Opinion ID: 220774
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Testimony of Dr. Bruce Morgenstern7

Text: 6 A. (Dr. Alexander) “[T]here is almost nothing that will basically have the kidney go from .6 to a creatinine of 9, except nonadherence. And that is, for us, the main number, 1, 2, and 3, of the differential diagnosis when someone’s kidney that’s been stable for two years, no rejection prior to that time, suddenly fails. Q. So nonadherence would be the first thing you would look at when somebody comes in with a spiking creatinine level; correct? A. A very high creatinine. Q. What’s the second thing you look at? A. Nonadherence. Q. Well, I thought that was No.1. A. It’s No. 1, 2, and 3. R., Vol. I at 80 (Deposition of Dr. Steven Alexander, Feb. 11, 2010). 7 The parties and the district court differ in their spelling of Dr. Morgenstern’s name and also spell it “Morganstern.” For consistency, we will use the spelling of the title of -18- Dr. Bruce Morgenstern was prepared to testify that it was “highly probable” that the reason for Huerta’s low tacrolimus levels in May of 2006 was the subpotency of BioScrip’s tacrolimus suspension. Aug. 13, 2010 Op. at 9-10. Yet, the district court found that Dr. Morgenstern’s testimony was based on the erroneous assumptions that the other physicians had definitively established that the tacrolimus suspension was subpotent when they had not, id. at 9, 11, and that other likely causes of Huerta’s kidney rejection had been ruled out because of their absence from the medical records. Id. at 9. Huerta argues that Dr. Morgenstern in fact reached his conclusions “given his experience as a pediatric nephrologist and statistical data,” Aplt’s Br. 21, citing only Dr. Morgenstern’s ultimate causation testimony which does not mention any actual statistical data. Id. On this record and on our affirming the district court’s exclusion of Dr. Wong’s and Dr. Alexander’s testimony, we are unconvinced that the district court made a clear error of judgment by excluding Dr. Morgenstern’s testimony.