HOUSTON - The 14th Court of Appeals today conditionally granted a petition for writ of mandamus brought by Transocean Offshore Deepwater Drilling seeking to compel an independent neuropsychological examination of a personal injury plaintiff.
According to the opinion, Transocean employed Daman Roy as a seaman aboard a drillship when he was struck in the face by a crane hook. Roy sued and later advised Transocean that he recently underwent neuropsychological testing in the Houston area and planned to undergo a brain MRI.
Transocean then requested that Roy undergo a neuropsychological examination with a named neuropsychologist. After he refused, Transocean filed a motion to compel an independent neuropsychological examination of him, which the trial court denied.
The 14th Court determined the trial court abused its discretion, finding that without an independent examination Transocean would be unable to effectively challenge Roy’s experts or develop a complete analysis of the nature of his injuries.
“Balancing the benefits and detriments of mandamus, we conclude that, without the requested neuropsychological examination and the opportunity to develop and present its defense, Transocean lacks an adequate remedy by appeal,” the opinion states. Accordingly, we conditionally grant Transocean’s petition for writ of mandamus.
“We direct the trial court to issue a written order vacating its July 18, 2022 order denying relator’s motion to compel an independent neuropsychological examination of real party in interest Daman Roy and enter an order compelling Roy to submit to such examination. We are confident the trial court will act in accordance with this opinion and the writ will issue only if the court fails to do so.”
Case No. 14-22-00568-CV