According to the Opinion, the Plaintiff was allegedly injured when he was hit by a swinging door while making a delivery. The Plaintiff retained a liability expert to testify at trial on a opinion on whether the door in question was defective.
In this decision, the Pennsylvania Superior Court again confirmed that an expert opinion on causation to a reasonable degree of engineering certainty that the condition on the Defendant’s property “more likely than not” caused the Plaintiff’s injury was properly excluded by the trial court as not actually being an expert opinion to a reasonable degree of certainty.
The court noted that the Plaintiff’s expert’s opinion only stated that the Defendant’s improper maintenance was more likely than not the cause of the injury.
The Superior Court noted that, because the Plaintiff in this case had rested his case when it became clear that a fatal expert exclusion would cause a nonsuit, and where the Plaintiff did not thereafter present any evidence of damages, any error possibly committed by the trial court in terms of entering a nonsuit would have been harmless in any event.
Anyone wishing to review a copy of this decision may click this LINK.
I send thanks to Attorney James M. Beck of the Philadelphia office of the Reed Smith law firm for bringing this case to my attention.
In this decision, the Pennsylvania Superior Court again confirmed that an expert opinion on causation to a reasonable degree of engineering certainty that the condition on the Defendant’s property “more likely than not” caused the Plaintiff’s injury was properly excluded by the trial court as not actually being an expert opinion to a reasonable degree of certainty.
The court noted that the Plaintiff’s expert’s opinion only stated that the Defendant’s improper maintenance was more likely than not the cause of the injury.
The Superior Court noted that, because the Plaintiff in this case had rested his case when it became clear that a fatal expert exclusion would cause a nonsuit, and where the Plaintiff did not thereafter present any evidence of damages, any error possibly committed by the trial court in terms of entering a nonsuit would have been harmless in any event.
Anyone wishing to review a copy of this decision may click this LINK.
I send thanks to Attorney James M. Beck of the Philadelphia office of the Reed Smith law firm for bringing this case to my attention.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.