Opinion ID: 701265
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Dr. Fagelson

Text: 38 As to Dr. Fagelson, Fuller cites Christophersen v. Allied-Signal Corp., 939 F.2d 1106, 1113 (5th Cir.1991), cert. denied, 503 U.S. 912, 112 S.Ct. 1280, 117 L.Ed.2d 506 (1992), for the proposition that holding a medical degree is not enough to qualify [a doctor] to give an opinion on every conceivable medical question. Fuller points out that this caveat is especially relevant here where Fagelson could not point to a single piece of medical literature that says glue fumes cause throat polyps. Finally, it disputes that the method Fagelson used to come to his medical conclusion, differential etiology, qualifies as scientific under Daubert. We are unpersuaded. 39 Fagelson is an experienced medical doctor, who is certified by the American Board of Otolaryngology and has practiced in the specialty of ears, nose and throat since 1966. We find his background sufficient to permit his expert testimony on a throat ailment and its causes. See, e.g., Carroll v. Morgan, 17 F.3d 787, 790 (5th Cir.1994) (holding that a doctor was qualified under Daubert to give an expert opinion on standard of medical care based on thirty years of experience as a practicing, board-certified cardiologist and his review of the medical records); Hopkins v. Dow Corning Corp., 33 F.3d 1116, 1125 (9th Cir.1994) (holding that the district court properly admitted expert testimony under Daubert that was based on, inter alia, the doctors' clinical experience and review of the medical records), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 115 S.Ct. 734, 130 L.Ed.2d 637 (1995). Fuller's suggestion that Fagelson had to be a specialist in environmental medicine to provide expert testimony in this case is an unwarranted expansion of the gatekeeper role announced in Daubert. 40 Fuller's contention that Fagelson did not base his opinion on scientific knowledge also fails. Under Daubert,  'scientific' implies a grounding in the methods and procedures of science, while  'knowledge' connotes more than subjective belief or unsupported speculation. Daubert, --- U.S. at ----, 113 S.Ct. at 2795. Fagelson based his opinion on a range of factors, including his care and treatment of McCullock; her medical history (as she related it to him and as derived from a review of her medical and surgical reports); pathological studies; review of Fuller's MSDS; his training and experience; use of a scientific analysis known as differential etiology (which requires listing possible causes, then eliminating all causes but one); and reference to various scientific and medical treatises. Disputes as to the strength of his credentials, faults in his use of differential etiology as a methodology, or lack of textual authority for his opinion, go to the weight, not the admissibility, of his testimony. See id. at ----, 113 S.Ct. at 2798 (Vigorous cross-examination, presentation of contrary evidence, and careful instruction on the burden of proof are the traditional and appropriate means of attacking shaky but admissible evidence.). Thus, the district court, in the sound exercise of its discretion, properly admitted Fagelson's testimony.