Emergency Medicine Expert’s Standard of Care Testimony Excluded

Plaintiff Chanada Robinson (“Plaintiff Robinson”) is the mother of Anthony J. Thompson, Jr., who was involved in an incident at East Austin Magnet High School (“Austin East”) that ended his life on April 12, 2021.

Plaintiff Robinson alleged violations of the Fourth Amendment, deliberate indifference to Thompson’s medical needs, assault and battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Plaintiff filed the expert witness report of James A. Wilson, M.D. According to Wilson, “the purpose of [his] report is to assess the physical and psychological impact upon Thompson when he was denied medical care following being shot in the chest at close range by [Defendant] Clabough.”

Defendants filed a joint Daubert motion to exclude Wilson’s opinions pursuant to Rule 702 of the Federal Rules of Evidence.

Emergency Medicine Expert Witness

James Andrew Wilson, M.D. is a recent member of US Acute Care Solutions. From 2018-2023 he worked for Envision Physician Services, where he was an Assistant Medical Director of an Emergency Department and an EMS Medical Director for several local agencies.

Wilson received an MD and MBA in one of the first joint degree programs in the country. He completed a residency in emergency medicine at Christ Hospital and Medical Center (also in the Chicago area).

Want to know more about the challenges James Wilson has faced? Get the full details with our Challenge Study report.

Discussion by the Court

Defendants contended that Wilson cannot offer an opinion about any breach of standard of care because (1) it is a legal conclusion, (2) he is not qualified to offer an opinion about the conduct of law enforcement officers, and (3) his opinion is not reliable.

A. Qualifications

Defendants argued that Wilson cannot offer any opinion about the breach of standard of care because he is not qualified to provide an opinion about the conduct of law enforcement officers.

Wilson opined that the individual Defendants “failed to meet the standard of care for first responders interacting with a gunshot victim.”

Plaintiff outlined Wilson’s educational and experience, which includes experience with first responder triage and teaching about the standard of care for first responders. But Plaintiff has not provided any evidence that Wilson is qualified to testify about the standard of care as it relates to a law enforcement officer.

B. Legal Conclusion

Defendants asserted that Wilson cannot offer an opinion that they breached the standard of care because that is a legal conclusion.

Plaintiff did not respond to this argument. Given that, the Court found it unopposed and the proposition conceded.

C. Reliability

Defendants argued that Wilson’s opinion that they “breached the standard of care by not providing pain medication or by not ensuring that the paramedics (allegedly at the scene) gave pain medications to Thomspon” is unreliable.

Plaintiff, once again, did not respond to Defendants’ argument. Therefore, it too is unopposed and the proposition conceded.

But the Court would also exclude the opinion because it is unreliable. Wilson stated that a person must be conscious to feel pain and that Thompson was conscious between 3:15:28 and 3:19:22.

Defendants have submitted evidence showing that EMS personnel were not at the scene until about 3:20:30, after Thompson became unconscious, and that Officer Willson left with the assistance of KPD officers at 3:18:20.

Held

The Court granted Defendants’ joint Daubert motion as to Plaintiff’s expert Dr. James Wilson, M.D.

Key Takeaway

An expert’s opinion must be supported by ‘more than subjective belief and unsupported speculation’ and should be supported by ‘good grounds,’ based on what is known.

Case Details:

Case Caption:	Robinson V. Baldwin
Docket Number:	3:22cv125
Court Name:	United States District Court, Tennessee Eastern
Order Date:	December 29, 2025