Plaintiff, Anna Ortega, alleged that hot water from a hotel room shower “caused a large second degree burn on [her] left lower leg.” The incident occurred on February 11, 2024 at the L’Auberge Casino Resort Lake Charles.
Plaintiff has retained Dr. Derek Lou, a plastic surgeon to provide an opinion on her injuries. Lou opined that Plaintiff sustained second degree burns to her lower left leg and right shoulder/upper back as a result of the February 2024 shower incident. Defendant sought to exclude that testimony under the standards set forth in Rule 702.
Plastic Surgery Expert Witness
Derek C. Lou is a Harvard-trained, board-certified plastic surgeon with advanced training and decades of experience in the management of burn injuries.
He is also an Associate Professor in Plastic Surgery at the UT Medical Branch in Galveston, TX.
Discussion by the Court
Defendant did not dispute Lou’s qualifications. Instead, it maintained that his opinions do not adequately account for the discrepancies in the appearance of Plaintiff’s leg injury as it presented to different providers and for the lack of evidence that the shower water was hot enough or on for long enough to cause the claimed injury.
Defendant first maintained that there is no evidence that Plaintiff was exposed to water that was hot enough to cause a second-degree burn within seconds. But Defendant likewise presented no evidence of the highest possible temperature that could have emitted from its allegedly defective commercial water heater.
Ortega’s account of the incident, including using the affected leg to turn off the hot water, provided a plausible explanation for several seconds of exposure.
As for the burn’s delayed healing, Defendant correctly points out that there is no record that Plaintiff ever used Silvadene. Accordingly, Lou’s hypothesis regarding prolonged Silvadene usage is unsupported. But the infection itself might explain any discrepancies. The photographs from the scanned medical records do not show much detail. While her medical records describe blisters and redness, they also note an active infection of the wound and associated itching. Thus, Defendant failed to sufficiently undermine the basis of Lou’s opinions on Plaintiff’s leg injury.
As for the shoulder/upper back injury, Lou also briefly opined that Plaintiff had suffered a second degree burn to this area. Plaintiff never sought any follow-up care after her urgent care visit on the date of the incident. But she has submitted an affidavit stating that she was simply unaware of the scar because it was on her back, along with a photograph of the affected area.
The Court found that Lou is sufficiently qualified to offer an opinion based on his examination and Plaintiff’s account of the exposure.
Held
The Court denied the Defendant’s Daubert motion to exclude the testimony of Derek Lou.
Key Takeaway
Rejection of expert testimony is the exception rather than the rule, and the court’s role as gatekeeper “does not replace the traditional adversary system and the place of the jury within the system.”
Case Details:
| Case Caption: | Ortega V. PNK Lake Charles LLC |
| Docket Number: | 2:25cv653 |
| Court Name: | United States District Court, Louisiana Western |
| Order Date: | June 18, 2026 |
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