Opinion ID: 1936466
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: admissibility of einspahr's causation opinion

Text: Since the collision, Dean's bladder has become dysfunctional; he can no longer void it without the assistance of a catheter. Dean alleges that injuries he sustained in the collision led to his bladder condition. To establish this causal connection at trial, he relied on the expert testimony of Einspahr. In their first assignment of error, the appellants assert that the trial court erred in allowing Einspahr to testify. Rule 702 governs the admissibility of expert testimony. It provides: If scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge will assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue, a witness qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education, may testify thereto in the form of an opinion or otherwise. Here, the appellants essentially make three arguments: the court (1) committed clear error in determining that Einspahr was qualified to testify as an expert on whether the collision had caused Dean's bladder condition; (2) abused its discretion in concluding that the differential diagnosis conducted by Einspahr was reliable under the standards we set out in Schafersman v. Agland Coop, 262 Neb. 215, 631 N.W.2d 862 (2001) (adopting standards set forth in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579, 113 S.Ct. 2786, 125 L.Ed.2d 469 (1993), and its progeny); and (3) abused its discretion in allowing Einspahr to testify because on cross-examination, he conceded that his opinion was based on speculation. We begin our analysis by describing Dean's bladder condition and how Einspahr reached his opinion. We then turn to the arguments made by the appellants.