Dawn Dawsey sued Carnival and the company that provided spa services for a cruise she took, alleging that her hip was fractured when excessive force was used during a bamboo massage. Each party brought Daubert motions to exclude the expert testimony offered by the opposing party. The judge sensibly decided to admit all the expert testimony and let the jury sort it out.

Treating Physicians’ Testimony

The defendants asked the court to exclude the expert testimony of Dawsey’s treating physicians on the ground that they did not prepare expert reports. The court denied the motion as to all experts who were not providing testimony as to the cause of the fracture, because treating physicians are not generally required to provide reports concerning their diagnosis and treatment.

Plaintiff’s Expert’s Causation Testimony

Dr. Christopher Troiano, an orthopedic surgeon, reviewed Dawsey’s post-cruise medical records and concluded that the massage caused her hip injury. The defendants challenged his methodology, claiming that he had none.

In particular, the defendants complained that Dr. Troiano did not examine Dawsey, did not interview her or read her deposition testimony, relied on “anecdotal” statements that she made to treating physicians who recorded them in her medical records, reviewed only the medical records provided by her attorney, and did not consider other possible causes of the injury.

In effect, Dr. Troiano concluded that, given the absence of evidence of any other traumatic event, the massage must have caused the hip fracture. That opinion is supported by logic, as an expert should not be required to speculate about alternative causes of an injury in the absence of evidence that anything else happened to Dawsey that could have fractured her hip.

The court recognized that Dr. Troiano’s methodology was not ideal and appeared to be on the fence as to whether the doctor’s opinion was admissible. As the judge noted: “Reviewing only medical records selected by the plaintiff’s attorney is problematic, to say the least, especially when the expert does not also review the plaintiff’s medical records from before the cruise or review her deposition testimony.”

The court nevertheless took note of cases holding that a medical expert does not necessarily need to examine a patient before forming an opinion about the cause of an injury. The court concluded that it is the jury’s function to weigh evidence. After cross-examination at trial, a jury might give the expert’s opinion no weight at all. That call, however, is one that should be made by a jury, not a judge.

The court noted, however, that “Dr. Troiano’s opinion testimony on causation is far from strong and barely squeaked by the pre-trial motion to exclude it.” The court decided only that the opinion was admissible. Whether the opinion would be sufficient to support a verdict in Dawson’s favor was an issue the court could not decide until all evidence was presented at the trial.

Defense Experts’ Causation Testimony

The defense experts opined that a bamboo massage cannot result in a broken hip. Dawsey moved to exclude that testimony because none of the experts offered an opinion as to the actual cause of the hip fracture.

The court concluded that the experts were not required to explain how Dawsey’s hip was fractured. They were permitted to criticize the causation testimony of Dawsey’s expert and to opine about inconsistencies in Dawsey’s testimony that made the massage an implausible cause her injury.

Defense Radiologist’s Testimony

Dawsey also challenged the admissibility of Dr. Whiteman’s expert testimony. Dr. Whiteman is a diagnostic radiologist. Dawsey argued that Dr. Whiteman is unqualified because he is not a surgeon and does not treat hip fractures. The court concluded that the radiologist could offer an opinion about causation while noting that Dawsey was free to cross-examine him vigorously about any limitations in his medical training that could affect his credibility.

Dr. Whiteman’s report stated: “I do not know the cause of Ms. Dawsey’s left hip fracture, but it definitely was not caused by the massage.” Dawsey argued that Dr. Whiteman rendered that opinion without considering the amount of force that was exerted as the masseuse “placed a hand under the bamboo stick and against the hip and extended the stick outward to stretch the outer side muscles and hip joints.”

Repeating its ruling that defense experts do not need to pinpoint an alternative cause of an injury, the court noted that the defense has no burden to disprove causation. Rather, a defense expert’s testimony is admissible if it casts doubt on the plaintiff’s theory about the cause of an injury. Since Dr. Whiteman did so, it was up to the jury to determine whether his testimony would undermine Dawson’s theory of causation.