Pennsylvania Superior Court Remands Case After Finding that Testimonies of Defense Experts Were Improperly Limited By Trial Court

In the case of Bell v. O’Neill, No. 2393 EDA 2022 (Pa. Super. Nov. 16, 2023 Bowes, J., Stabile, J., Pellegrini, J.) (Op. by Bowes, J.), the Pennsylvania Superior Court vacated a jury’s $1 million dollar verdict in favor of a Plaintiff in a motor vehicle accident matter after concluding that the defense expert witnesses were improperly precluded from testifying during the trial.

More specifically, the Superior court noted that the trial court should have allowed two (2) of the defense experts, an orthopedic surgeon, and a biomedical engineer, to testify on causation issues.

The court noted that, just as the Plaintiff’s medical expert was permitted offer opinions that the motor vehicle accident caused the Plaintiff’s alleged injuries despite minor damages to the vehicles, the defense expert should have been allowed to rebut the argument that the alleged small force involved in the accident was sufficient to have caused the extent of the injuries the Plaintiff claimed to have suffered.

The Superior Court remanded the case for a new trial on causation and damages.

Anyone wishing to review a copy of this decision may click this LINK.


Source: Article – “Court Nixes $1M Rear-End Collision Verdict Over Improperly Excluded Experts,” By Riley Brennan of the Pennsylvania Law Weekly (Nov. 28, 2023).