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LexisNexis® Mealey's™ Daubert Legal News
Headline Daubert Legal News from LexisNexis®

• 3rd Circuit Says Stock Interest Expert Properly Admitted
  PHILADELPHIA - A commonwealth expert was qualified and had a reliable methodology underlying his opinion that interest owed on abandoned stocks was less than the cost of administering the claim to retrieve them, a Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held Dec. 1 (Richard Simon, et al. v. Robin L. Weissmann, No. 07-3880, 3rd Cir.; 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 24430). Full story on lexis.com
• FELA Claim Properly Nixed For Lack Of Causation Experts
  ATLANTA - A federal judge did not err in applying the admissibility factors enunciated in Daubert and the advisory committee notes to Federal Rule of Evidence 702 in excluding causation experts from a Federal Employers Liability Act case, an 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held Nov. 18 (Jimmie Bowers v. Norfolk Southern Corp, et al., No. 08-12087, 11th Cir.; 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 23918). Full story on lexis.com
• Special Master Finds Tetanus Vaccine Caused Guillain-Barr? Syndrome
  WASHINGTON, D.C. - A Vaccine Court special master has granted program compensation to a man who alleged that the tetanus vaccine in a tetanus-diphtheria vaccination (TD) caused Guillain-Barr? syndrome (GBS) (Roberto Garcia v. Secretary, No. 05-720V, Fed. Clms., Off. Spec. Masters). Full story on lexis.com
• Specific Causation Opinion In Vacuum Delivery Case Lacked Any Support
  BOSTON - An obstetrician lacked any support for his opinion that vacuum extraction caused an infant to have a stroke, a federal judge held Nov. 5 in excluding his testimony (Isabella McGovern, by and through her mother, Linda McGovern v. Brigham & Women's Hospital, et al., No. 07-10643-WGY, D. Mass.; 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 94403). Full story on lexis.com
• Michigan Appellate Panel Affirms Summary Judgment In Medical Malpractice Case
  DETROIT - A Michigan appellate panel on Nov. 20 affirmed a trial court decision in a medical malpractice case, ruling that without any expert testimony to establish proximate causation, summary judgment was appropriate (Miranda Mock by her next friend Jodie Mock v. Hackley Hospital and David Van Winkle M.D., No. 280269, Mich. App.; 2008 Mich. App. LEXIS 2345). Full story on lexis.com
• Michigan Judge Excludes Asbestos Medical Expert As Unreliable
  DETROIT - An asbestos expert's 90 percent failure rate and findings that consistently differ from other doctors indicate that his opinions and methods are not reliable and should be excluded, a Michigan judge held Nov. 19 (Grady Miles v. Sure Seal Products Co., et al., No. 04-434812, Mich. Cir., Wayne Co.). Full story on lexis.com
• Doctor Can't Assume Carpal Tunnel Came From Work Movements
  ALBANY, NY - A FELA plaintiff's treating physician's specific causation testimony is inadmissible because he only diagnosed the condition, but a carpal tunnel syndrome expert has a reliable basis and can be heard by the jury, a federal judge held Nov. 21 (John Higgins v. Consolidated Rail Corp., et al., No. 1:06-CV-689 [GLS/DRH], N.D. N.Y.; 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 94889). Full story on lexis.com
• Lung Cancer Link To Diesel Exhaust-Smoking Combination Unreliable
  GREENVILLE, Miss. - Research linking lung cancer to a combined exposure of diesel exhaust and cigarette smoking is limited and insufficient to form the basis of a specific causation opinion, a federal judge held Nov. 21 (Oscar Brooks v. Ingram Barge Co., et al., No. 4:07CV62, N.D. Miss.; 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 94866). Full story on lexis.com
• Iowa Federal Judge Grants Defense Summary Judgment For Weak Causation Evidence
  DES MOINES, Iowa - Defense summary judgment motions and in limine motions to exclude causation expert testimony for a mother alleging products liability against the manufacturer of Dursban and a pesticide applicator were granted Nov. 3 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa (Rene Junk, et al. v. Terminix International Co. Limited Partnership, et al., No. 05-608, S.D. Iowa; See September 2008, Page 11). Full story on lexis.com
• Ashland Says Evidence Does Not Support Causation Argument
  GREENSBORO, N.C. - Ashland Inc. is moving for a consolidated hearing on its summary judgment and Daubert briefs in a benzene case, arguing that if the court grants its Daubert motions, the plaintiff will not be able to provide causation and summary judgment will be appropriate (Hollace Kennedy Stromberg, et al. v. Ashland, Inc., et al., No. 1:07cv332, M.D. N.C.). Full story on lexis.com