H-E-B and the family of retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Jerrold P. Allen have quietly resolved a wrongful-death lawsuit, ending a closely watched court battle tied to Allen’s December 2023 hospitalization and death. A dismissal reflecting the settlement was signed on June 12, 2026, and the terms were not made public.
Settlement Ends Two-Year Legal Fight
Court records show the case between H-E-B and Craig Allen was settled before it could reach a jury, and State District Judge Nicole Garza signed an order tossing the lawsuit, according to the San Antonio Express-News. In comments quoted by the paper, H-E-B said it "was able to amicably address this matter for all parties involved, and the lawsuit has been dismissed," adding that its "thoughts continue to go out to the Allen family." The company has denied the allegations set out in the complaint.
What The Lawsuit Alleged
The suit alleged that Jerrold P. Allen, 79, visited the H-E-B pharmacy at 14325 Potranco Road on Dec. 7, 2023, to pick up a prescription for Brilinta, a blood thinner, but was told he could not receive the medication in person. According to the filing, staff advised him to wait for the prescription to arrive by mail. The complaint states Allen suffered a heart attack days later and died on Dec. 13, 2023.
His family filed the wrongful-death case in May 2024, seeking between $250,000 and $1 million, as previously reported when the family filed the suit.
Attorney Response And Motions
Houston attorney Randall Sorrels, who represented Craig Allen, declined to comment on the settlement when contacted, the San Antonio Express-News reported. Sorrels had previously said the blood thinner would have prevented clotting that contributed to Allen’s death.
Before the settlement, H-E-B sought to have the case dismissed, arguing that the expert reports submitted by the plaintiffs were legally insufficient. Lawyers for the family countered that their expert reports met Texas standards for a health-care liability claim, setting up a legal tug-of-war that never reached a jury ruling.
Legal Note
Under Texas law, people bringing health-care liability suits must serve expert reports early in the case under Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code § 74.351, according to Justia. Courts can dismiss claims if those reports are found inadequate. That backdrop helps explain the flurry of motions in this lawsuit and why expert witnesses often determine whether such claims ever make it to trial. Judge Garza’s dismissal order followed notice from both sides that they had resolved the dispute.
Pharmacy Safety And The Bigger Picture
Problems tied to dispensing and pharmacy policies are widely documented. A systematic review via NCBI found that reported dispensing-error rates vary, and that a portion of those errors can be serious enough to harm patients. That research underlines the stakes when time-sensitive medications such as blood thinners are involved and helps explain why incidents like the Allen case sometimes end up in court.
Locally, the episode has renewed calls from customers for clearer communication about when and how critical drugs are dispensed, especially when mail-order systems bump up against urgent medical needs.
For now, the settlement and dismissal close the public chapter of the Allen family’s lawsuit, leaving unresolved questions about how pharmacies should balance mail-order procedures with in-store access to essential medicines. H-E-B has repeated its condolences to the Allen family and has maintained in court filings that its pharmacy "followed applicable standard of care." The family has not issued any new public statements about the resolution.
