Opinion ID: 1058169
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Expert Testimony: Trial Court Proceedings

Text: Mr. Johannson is a mechanical engineer with a professional engineering license. In 1970, Caterpillar hired him to aid in the redesign of its sit-down forklifts. While at Caterpillar, Mr. Johannson obtained sixteen patents for various devices on forklifts. In 1989, Mr. Johannson formed Concept Engineering, a private consulting firm that designs various machines for businesses. Mr. Johannson offered two opinions regarding the circumstances surrounding the injuries to Mr. Brown and Mrs. Reynolds. He testified that: 1) Crown was aware of the problem with left leg injuries and failed to take action to remedy the problem; and 2) a stand-up forklift with a properly latched door would have prevented the injuries suffered by Mr. Brown and Mrs. Reynolds. The trial court found that it was required to apply all five of the McDaniel factors to Mr. Johannson's testimony. [1] The trial court first found that Mr. Johannson failed to test his door design and offered no evidence except for his bareboned opinion regarding the pretrial testimony of the plaintiffs, various witnesses and the defendant's accident reports. As to factors two and three, the trial court reasoned that Mr. Johannson's preliminary drawing of a door design could not be subjected to peer review and that the potential rate of error is unknown due to the lack of testing. In examining whether the evidence is generally accepted in the scientific community, factor four, the trial court explained that the scientific community cannot possibly have any knowledge of Mr. Johannson's drawing and has rejected Mr. Johannson's proposal to `just add doors and safety follows' on prior occasions. Finally, the trial court found that Mr. Johannson had created his preliminary sketch for purposes of litigation. The trial court concluded its examination of Mr. Johannson's testimony by stating, The Court does not dispute that the witness is an expert in his chosen field of engineering. The Court would not exclude this if he had any testing to back up his opinions; however, he does not. And the fact that he may be able to make a far more educated guess than a layperson, this does not make his opinion trustworthy. Dr. Harris is a professor of biomedical engineering at Marquette University where he teaches courses in biomechanical engineering. He is also a licensed professional engineer. Dr. Harris' work as a biomedical/biomechanical engineer involves the application of mechanical engineering principles to the human body and the biomechanics of trauma or the study of the amount of force necessary to cause injuries to different parts of the body. This branch of biomechanics also evaluates the body's position and how the position changes upon the occurrence of an accident or the application of a force. Dr. Harris also serves as director of research in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin and collaborates with the Shriner's Hospital in Chicago. He supervises two gait laboratories where he examines the movements and forces of a person's legs, as well as a person's ability to stand and maintain balance. Dr. Harris offered opinions as to how Mr. Brown and Mrs. Reynolds were injured. Dr. Harris opined that 1) Mr. Brown and Mrs. Reynolds would not have been injured had their forklifts been equipped with doors; 2) the addition of a door would not increase the chances of injury during a tip-over or off-the-dock accident; and 3) the operator should remain inside the operator's compartment during a tip-over or off-the-dock accident. As with Mr. Johannson's testimony, the trial court found that it was required to apply all five of the McDaniel factors to Dr. Harris' testimony and addressed each factor in turn. The trial court concluded that 1) the doctor failed to offer support in the form of data and testing of his conclusion that the injuries would not have occurred if the forklifts had been equipped with doors; 2) Dr. Harris' hypothesis had not been subjected to peer review; 3) the rate of error was unknown due to the doctor's failure to test the hypothesis; 4) a determination of whether the evidence is generally accepted in the scientific community could not be obtained due to Dr. Harris' failure to submit any evidence; and 5) Dr. Harris' opinions and conclusions came about through litigation. The trial court reasoned that: Dr. Harris has conducted no testing, and he does not purport to rely on any testing which would support any of his conclusions. Dr. Harris has merely relied on his knowledge in the field of biomechanics. And, again, the Court has no reason to question Dr. Harris' expertise as an expert in the field of biomechanics, but more is involved in this case than an expertise in the field of biomechanics. In this type of litigation, where the machinery in question is a highly specialized piece of equipment, an expert witness cannot rely on supposition or theories. An expert testifying that he knows what happened and how it could have been prevented may not do so absent any tests or research or reliable scientific method. Dr. Harris' methodology appears to the Court to be little more than a consideration of the facts presented.