Opinion ID: 2038747
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 14

Heading: Application of Schafersman I/Daubert Framework

Text: In Schafersman I, we stated that Wass' opinion that the contaminated oats caused the cows to become ill was dependent upon the underlying theory of multiple mineral toxicity. 262 Neb. at 222, 631 N.W.2d at 871. Following remand, the court ruled that (1) the multiple mineral toxicity theory had not been peer reviewed, (2) it had not been tested, (3) it had no known or potential error rate, (4) it had not been generally accepted within the scientific community, and (5) no standard exists for determining what levels of any given mineral could result in a toxic effect. However, as we noted above, Wass altered his multiple mineral toxicity theory following remand. He now contends that the amount of copper in the contaminated oats could have caused the cows' symptoms. It is not clear from the trial court's order whether it detected this change in Wass' theory. But it is unnecessary for us to consider whether Wass' revised theory of multiple mineral toxicity was reliable under Schafersman I/Daubert. The lack of independent hard scientific support for multiple mineral toxicity was not the only reason the court gave for excluding the testimony of the Schafersmans' experts. It also ruled that they could not testify because they had failed to perform a reliable clinical analysis, specifically noting that none of the experts had conducted a differential diagnosis. In Schafersman I, we gave the following critical description of Wass' clinical analysis: Wass testified that in preparing his opinion, he physically went to the Schafersman farm, but only examined the Schafersmans' records relating to the cows. Wass admitted that he did not perform a clinical examination of any of the cows and did not treat the cows. Wass did not perform any tests on the cows to rule out other causes of the jaundice that had been observed in the cows by the Schafersmans' veterinarian, nor did he test for copper toxicity, which Wass opined was a contributing factor to the illness afflicting the cows. Wass performed no tests to rule out other potential causes for the alleged drop in milk production. Wass acknowledged that he should have tested for copper toxicity and performed other tests on the cows. Wass further testified that while he tested a sample of the mixture delivered to the Schafersmans by Agland, he did not test the composition of the total ration actually fed to the cows after it was combined by the Schafersmans with corn and other nutrients. 262 Neb. at 220, 631 N.W.2d at 869. Later in our opinion, we pointed out that Wass admittedly had failed to perform a differential diagnosis, which we described as a standard scientific technique of identifying the cause of a medical problem by eliminating the likely causes until the most probable one is isolated. Id. at 223, 631 N.W.2d at 871. See, also, Carlson v. Okerstrom, 267 Neb. 397, 675 N.W.2d 89 (2004) (discussing at length when differential diagnosis provides reliable basis for expert opinion testimony). Nothing has changed on remand. Neither Wass, nor White, nor Oraskovich took any substantive steps to shore up the weaknesses we identified in Wass' clinical analysis. We do not hold that an expert must perform every step we identified in Schafersman I for his or her clinical analysis to be reliable. But, given that the Schafersmans' experts did not perform any of those steps, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to admit their expert opinion testimony.