Opinion ID: 315655
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: other contentions of appellant

Text: 29 Plaintiff's expert, Dr. Weinstein, was hired to support plaintiff's original theory that the accident was due to negligent design of the Airdox equipment. When plaintiff entirely dropped the negligence theory before trial, the trial judge did not abuse his discretion in refusing to allow defendant to call plaintiff's expert as his own witness. Defendant's questioning would have inevitably distracted the jury from the primary issue by bringing up the irrelevant question of negligence. 30 Nor did the trial judge abuse his discretion in prohibiting defendant's counsel from asking Taylor his opinion as to the cause of the accident, since Taylor was not named as an expert as required by the pretrial rules of the court. In any event, defendant was not significantly prejudiced by the ruling, since he was allowed to present to the jury testimony of Taylor strongly implying that Taylor thought the accident was caused by human intervention. 31 Finally, as to the contention that the trial judge should have answered the jury's question concerning collateral medical benefits, appellant concedes that the court followed existing law. Gladden v. P. Henderson & Co., 385 F.2d 480, 483 (3d Cir. 1967), cert. denied, 390 U.S. 1013, 88 S.Ct. 1262, 20 L.Ed.2d 162 (1968). 32 The judgment of the district court will be affirmed.