Opinion ID: 2003764
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Admissibility of Dr. Hansen's Expert Testimony

Text: Excel Polymers argues that the trial court erred in denying its motion in limine to exclude the testimony of Dr. Hansen, Mr. Broyles' treating physician, on the issue of causation of Mr. Broyles' injury. The admission of expert proof is governed by Tennessee Rules of Evidence 702 and 703. State v. Copeland, 226 S.W.3d 287, 301 (Tenn.2007); Brown v. Crown Equip. Corp., 181 S.W.3d 268, 273 (Tenn.2005). Tennessee Rule of Evidence 702 provides that [i]f scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge will substantially 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 in the form of an opinion or otherwise. Tennessee Rule of Evidence 703 directs the trial court to disallow testimony in the form of an opinion or inference if the underlying facts or data indicate lack of trustworthiness. Issues regarding expert qualifications and the admissibility, relevancy, and competency of expert testimony are matters generally left to the trial court's discretion. Brown, 181 S.W.3d at 273. We may not overturn the trial court's ruling admitting or excluding expert testimony unless the trial court abused its discretion. Id. We have defined a trial court's abuse of discretion as occurring when it applies incorrect legal standards, reaches an illogical conclusion, bases its decision on a clearly erroneous assessment of the evidence, or employs reasoning that causes an injustice to the complaining party. State v. Scott, 275 S.W.3d 395, 404 (Tenn.2009). In McDaniel v. CSX Transportation, Inc., 955 S.W.2d 257 (Tenn.1997), this Court set forth several nonexclusive factors a court may consider in determining the reliability of scientific testimony, including: (1) whether scientific evidence has been tested and the methodology with which it has been tested; (2) whether the evidence has been subjected to peer review or publication; (3) whether a potential rate of error is known; (4) whether ... the evidence is generally accepted in the scientific community; and (5) whether the expert's research in the field has been conducted independent of litigation. Id. at 265; see also Brown, 181 S.W.3d at 274. In Brown, we reemphasized the non-exclusivity of the McDaniel factors and cautioned that [t]hese factors are not mandated in every case in which expert evidence is offered and should not be applied unless the factor or factors provide a reasonable measure of the expert's methodology. Id. at 272. The Brown Court also identified two other nondefinitive factors that a trial court may consider in assessing the reliability of an expert's methodology: (1) the expert's qualifications for testifying on the subject at issue, and (2) the connection between the expert's knowledge and the basis for the expert's opinion. Id. at 274-75. In attacking the reliability and trustworthiness of Dr. Hansen's opinion concluding with reasonable medical certainty that Mr. Broyles' work environment, specifically his exposure to respirable silica dust particles, caused and exacerbated his UIP disease, Excel Polymers points to the following: (1) Dr. Hansen's inability to identify with complete certainty the particles revealed in the lung biopsy; (2) Dr. Hansen's lack of familiarity with the rubber manufacturing industry in general and the Excel Polymers plant in particular; (3) Dr. Hansen's lack of reliance upon the AMA Guides and the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) exposure guidelines; and (4) Dr. Hansen's general agreement that the medical community predominantly considers a diagnosis of UIP to be idiopathic (i.e., without a known cause). After reviewing Dr. Hansen's testimony, we agree with the trial court and the special panel that Excel Polymers' criticisms of his opinions are more pertinent to the weight of his testimony, rather than its admissibility. At the time of trial, Dr. Hansen had been a board-certified specialist in pulmonary medicine for fifteen years and was Mr. Broyles' treating physician from the time of the onset of his respiratory illness. Among other things, Dr. Hansen based his diagnosis and conclusions regarding causation upon Mr. Broyles' description of his work history, his exposure to respirable dust particles and upon the lung biopsy that revealed the presence of particles consistent with silica dust of a size so small that it exists only in occupational and industrial settings. This Court observed in Brown that the trial court should distinguish between the marginally-qualified full-time expert witness who is testifying about a methodology that she has not employed in real life and the highly credentialed expert who has devoted her life's work to the actual exercise of the methodology upon which her testimony is based. Brown, 181 S.W.3d at 274 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). Dr. Hansen clearly falls into the latter category. He testified that this case was the first time he had been called upon to provide an expert opinion. Excel Polymers argues that there is no support in the medical literature for the opinion that exposure to silica dust causes UIP and that UIP is known only to the medical community as a disease that has no identifiable cause. Dr. Hansen testified consistently and repeatedly that the medical community classifies UIP as idiopathic predominantly, but not entirely. I have a paragraph from a pulmonary text that says that if you'd like to see it. Dr. Hansen referred to an article on cross-examination entitled An Elemental Analysis of Inorganic Dust in Lung Tissues of Interstitial Pneumonias, stating that it recognized that there can be cases of UIP with silica exposure, inorganic dust exposure and linking UIP with inorganic dust. Having carefully reviewed Dr. Hansen's testimony, we are satisfied that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in holding the testimony admissible under Tennessee Rules of Evidence 702 and 703. Nothing in Dr. Hansen's scientific methodology or medical qualifications raises the concern that his opinions are so objectionable as to require their exclusion. As the special panel observed, Dr. Hansen was able to plausibly articulate and explain the reasoning supporting his opinions regarding causation of Mr. Broyles' lung disease. Excel Polymers' other objections regarding Dr. Hansen's familiarity with its industry and plant, and his consideration of the AMA and OSHA guidelines, pertain more to the weight of his testimony than its admissibility. The judgment of the panel and trial court on this issue is affirmed.