Opinion ID: 625289
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Evidence on Causation

Text: Both parties had an expert available to testify regarding causation, but the experts were not allowed to testify for different reasons. Huffman offered the testimony of Dr. Alan Smith, his treating physician. In a pretrial order, though, the district court granted the Union Pacific's motion to exclude his testimony as an expert on causation. The district court held that Huffman's counsel had failed to justify admitting that opinion under Federal Rule of Evidence 702. The Union Pacific planned to have George Page, Manager of Ergonomics for the Union Pacific, state conclusions on whether Huffman's osteoarthritis was likely the result of his work. As questions concerning his opinions began, though, the district court sustained an objection to his causation testimony on the grounds that he had not been designated as an expert. On appeal, there is no challenge to these twin rulings. We now examine the evidence that was admitted from which jurors drew their conclusions about causation and the railroad's liability.
Dr. Robert Andres, a consultant on ergonomics employed by Huffman for the trial, testified regarding Huffman's activities. Dr. Andres's knowledge was based on a 30 to 45 minute telephone conversation with Huffman and consideration of Huffman's deposition. Dr. Andres listed activities that Huffman completed as a trainman: he put on end-of-train devices, engaged in pin pulling, changed knuckles, and aligned drawbars. Dr. Andres also stated that these were the kinds of tasks he had observed completed by trainmen across the country. Huffman testified that he climbed on and off of moving equipment, set handbrakes, coupled air hoses, and walked the entire length of the train 8,000 feeton sloping ballast.
It was uncontested that Huffman had osteoarthritis of the knees. Dr. Alan Smith, Huffman's treating physician, testified regarding Huffman's medical history. He had treated Huffman since 1992. In 1993, Huffman was diagnosed with patellar tendonitis, an inflammation of the tendon, and received two injections in his left knee. Dr. Smith testified that tendonitis is not the same as osteoarthritis. In September 1997, Huffman again saw Dr. Smith due to pain in his left knee. Dr. Smith believed the pain to be secondary to a misuse injury caused by Huffman's walking differently after an ankle injury. Dr. Smith stated that he first connected Huffman's knee pain to osteoarthritis in December 2005, which was after Huffman's retirement. In August 2007, Huffman received an injection in both knees as treatment for osteoarthritis. The injection was to reduce inflammation and to cushion the knee by increasing the amount and viscosity of the joint fluid. A year later, Huffman returned to Dr. Smith and complained of knee pain. Because the injections commonly last for about a year to a year-and-a-half, Huffman began a second round of injections in November 2008. Dr. Smith testified that if Huffman returns with knee pain within six months from the time of his last injection, he will recommend knee replacement surgery. During oral argument, this court was informed that Huffman will have a total knee replacement. Based on the foregoing evidence, osteoarthritis is the only injury at issue in this case, because no evidence of any other injury was presented to the jury. Even though the jury instructions were broad and did not limit the injury to osteoarthritis, the jury could not consider an injury for which no evidence was produced. Further, the jury instructions with respect to the statute of limitations refer to the relevant injury as a knee-related injury.
A document created by the Union Pacific identified the essential job functions of a trainman. The document listed coupling and uncoupling air hoses and electrical connections between cars, assisting with removal and replacement of broken knuckles, applying and releasing handbrakes, assisting in the alignment of drawbars, and getting on and off of stationary and moving equipment at less than three miles per hour. This is consistent with the testimony of Dr. Andres and Huffman on Huffman's duties as a trainman.
Evidence was presented to demonstrate that the kind of work trainmen do can cause injury if not completed in the ergonomically optimal way. Page, Manager of Ergonomics for the Union Pacific, discussed his research on how railroad employees operate equipment and the role of ergonomics. Page described ergonomics as having a safety component that asks, how much a human can do in the workplace before they become at an elevated risk for ... lower extremity injuries of the leg. He also discussed a video created to teach railroad employees the best method for lifting and how an inappropriate method of lifting can magnify stress on the lower back. Page stated that knee osteoarthritis and musculoskeletal disorders in trainmen were not on the Union Pacific's priority list of ergonomic concerns. Dr. Andres testified regarding ergonomic risk factors present in trainman activities. Dr. Andres read from a detailed 34-page report he had composed detailing Huffman's exposure to ergonomic risk factors while working for the railroad and the effectiveness of the railroad's efforts to combat musculoskeletal disorders. The force created by an activity and the worker's posture at the time were said to be key to the possibility of injury. Dr. Andres identified squatting, kneeling, lifting, carrying, climbing or walking on uneven surfaces as ergonomic risk factors. He stated that these risk factors are present in trainman activities generally and specifically present in coupling air hoses and throwing switches. Dr. Andres testified as to the desirability for a railroad to have a comprehensive ergonomics program to reduce injuries. His testimony tied the kind of work Huffman did to ergonomic risks to the lower limbs. He did not testify, though, that the risks included osteoarthritis in the knees. There was evidence the Union Pacific gave some workers training about ergonomics awareness. This training recognized that many musculoskeletal symptoms have multiple causes and may be associated with work and non-work factors. The factors listed in the training include intense, long-duration exposures to combinations of force and repetition, doing tasks beyond physical capabilities, and exposure to vibration above maximum health guidelines. To reduce the factors associated with musculoskeletal symptoms, the training suggested using sound work practices like neutral body postures, keeping items within easy reach, getting help if a task requires overexertion, taking stretch breaks, and using safe lifting practices and good body mechanics. Huffman did not receive this training. None of this evidence established that failure to follow best ergonomic practices would lead to osteoarthritis in the knees. Dr. Richard William Bunch, a licensed physical therapist, consulted with the Union Pacific on training programs for workers. Dr. Bunch defined musculoskeletal disorders as including a whole array of problems that involve muscle, tendon, bone, ligaments, joints, even nerves and blood vessels. Specifically, Dr. Bunch identified all sprains and strains, damages to the ligaments and tendons or the muscles, carpal tunnel syndrome, bone spurs, and herniated disks in the neck and back as examples of musculoskeletal disorders. Dr. Bunch, however, did not identify osteoarthritis of the knees or an inflammation of the articular cartilage in a joint as musculoskeletal disorders. William Eugene Roe, Chief Engineer of one of the Union Pacific regions, was in charge of the Bodies-in-Motion program for the Engineering Department. That program was designed to make the job more comfortable to the worker and counter effects of muscle tiredness. This training was not provided to workers like Huffman in the Transportation Department. Somewhat relevant here is the expert testimony Dr. Smith was allowed to give that explained arthritis as an inflammation of the joint. Osteoarthritis is inflammation of the articular cartilage at a joint, i.e., the cartilage that is the contact surface between two bones at a joint. As to cause, there was testimony that osteoarthritis is wear and tear and is caused by life. With this as the evidence, we now turn to whether the evidence presented was enough for the jury to grant Huffman relief.