On February 25, 2026, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed the dismissal of claims that doctors at St. David’s South Austin Medical Center unlawfully discriminated against Michael Hickson when they deprived him of food and water, leading to his death, because they wrongly believed his disabilities meant that he had a low quality of life. Michael Hickson was a loving father of five who experienced quadriplegia following a sudden cardiac arrest incident in 2017. He continued to speak, laugh, sing, and pray with his family until his death at St. David’s in 2020. Rosen Bien Galvan & Grunfeld is co-counsel for Michael’s widow Melissa Hickson in her appeal.
The trial court dismissed Ms. Hickson’s lawsuit, concluding that the federal laws that prohibit disability discrimination do not apply to any decision about medical treatment. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed in a unanimous and precedential decision. The Court of Appeals held that medical providers violate federal antidiscrimination law when they deny treatment solely based on a person’s disability, instead of factors that are relevant to the treatment decision. The Court of Appeals also reversed the dismissal of Ms. Hickson’s claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress.
As the Court of Appeals wrote, “We agree that the district court erred in holding categorically that no disability discrimination can arise from the medical treatment of disabled persons. … Any categorical bar to disability discrimination liability in this context contravenes the statutory text and common sense.” The Court also wrote that Ms. Hickson’s allegations about the hospital’s actions “are more than just ‘troublesome’; they are atrocious. The impact on Melissa of the hospital’s starving her husband to death, refusing to give him fluids, preventing her from talking to Michael as he was dying, failing to inform the family immediately of his passing, and posting the public statement against her go far ‘beyond all possible bounds of decency’ and are ‘utterly intolerable in a civilized community.’” The Court’s opinion is here.
This is an important decision and a significant victory for Ms. Hickson and for all people who face disability discrimination in the provision of medical care.