Opinion ID: 1729834
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: did the lower court err in allowing the appellee's medical expert to give an opinion on the ultimate fact in issue and to base such opinion on extrajudicial hearsay statements?

Text: The lower court, over strenuous objections by appellant, allowed the appellee's treating physician and expert witness to state his opinion as to the type of outside force or forces which would cause an injury of the nature he found on Michael Farmer. He stated that in his opinion the type injury Farmer sustained would have to be delivered by a blunt instrument as opposed to a sharp, like a knife, instrument with a small end. He also testified that in his opinion the injury could not have been caused by a fall. We are of the opinion that it was not error, under the particular circumstances of this case, to allow the physician to give his conclusion after he explained why he reached that conclusion. Ordinarily, we let the witness tell the facts and leave it to the jury to determine the conclusion to be drawn from the facts. Hagan Storm Fence Co. v. Edwards, 245 Miss. 487, 148 So.2d 693 (1963). However, since an expert witness, in a sense, discharges the functions of a juror, his opinion should be admitted if it is clear that the jurors themselves are not capable, from want of experience or knowledge of the subject, of drawing a correct conclusion from the facts. Illinois Central Railroad Co. v. Williams, 242 Miss. 586, 135 So.2d 831 (1961). In this case it is extremely doubtful that a juror could have drawn any conclusions from a simple recitation of the facts, such as the pattern of the skull fracture and the evidence or lack of evidence of a contracoup injury. In this case there was conflicting medical testimony about the cause of the skull fracture. Each medical expert, plaintiff's and defendant's, was permitted to give the facts on which he based his conclusion and to give his conclusion about the cause of the injury. This did not usurp the jury's function, as the jury need not have accepted the conclusion of either expert witness. Therefore, under the circumstances of this case, it was not error to allow the expert witnesses to testify and give their conclusions about what force caused the particular skull fracture. We do note, however, that this Court does not yet apply Fed. R. Evid. 704, and this opinion should not be read as a sign that the Court has begun to relax the rule announced in previous opinions that an expert witness may not give his opinion on the ultimate issue. The appellant's contention that the testimony of Dr. Feegle was based on hearsay is not supported by the record. Although Dr. Feegle did testify that he wanted to have the benefit of Dr. Stringer's observations from surgery, the record reveals that his testimony was based on his analysis of the hospital's records, his examination of the scene of the parking lot, the X-rays, his experience and his general knowledge of the medical literature on these and other points. There is no evidence that he based his opinion in whole or in part on what another doctor told him.