Opinion ID: 3054704
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Dr. Hutton

Text: The Coopers attempted to admit the testimony of Dr. William C. Hutton, a biomechanical engineer, who would have explained that the 2010 collision caused damage to the Coopers’ spines and lumbar discs. Specifically, Dr. Hutton would 3 Case: 13-10920 Date Filed: 09/27/2013 Page: 4 of 12 have opined that the combination of three stresses—the Coopers’ obesity, the probable twisting of their spines to the left due to the fact that they were likely turned looking at oncoming traffic, and the flexion of their spines from being seated—“would have been enough to damage the disc[s] or exacerbate a pre-existing lumbar degenerative disc” when Stroman ran into them. The district court excluded Dr. Hutton’s testimony as unreliable, explaining that he spent only five hours reviewing case material, that a significant portion of that time was devoted to thinking, and that his methodology was to rely on his 40 years of experience. On appeal, the Coopers argue the district court failed to account for Dr. Hutton’s extensive experience and his many peer-reviewed publications wherein he articulated the principles underlying his opinion in this case.2 The district court did not abuse its discretion in excluding Dr. Hutton’s testimony. While “there are instances in which a district court may determine the reliability prong under Daubert based primarily upon an expert’s experience and general knowledge in the field . . . at all times the district court must still determine 2 Although the Coopers argue that the district court erred in excluding Dr. Hutton’s testimony as to both general and specific causation, we do not read Dr. Hutton’s testimony as relating to general causation. Dr. Hutton’s one-page expert report related exclusively to the specific cause of the Coopers’ injuries, and the focus of his deposition testimony related to his opinion that the 2010 collision caused the Coopers’ current back problems. Moreover, while the Coopers’ initial brief references general and specific causation, it does not differentiate between the two, and the gravamen of their argument pertains to the specific circumstances of the 2010 collision. 4 Case: 13-10920 Date Filed: 09/27/2013 Page: 5 of 12 the reliability of the opinion, not merely the qualifications of the expert who offers it.” Kilpatrick v. Breg, Inc., 613 F.3d 1329, 1336 (11th Cir. 2010) (citation omitted). Although Dr. Hutton has extensive experience in his field, his opinion in this case was not the product of a scientifically reliable methodology. He generated his opinion that the 2010 collision caused the Coopers’ back injuries, or aggravated preexisting problems, by learning and thinking about the Coopers’ case and reaching a conclusion. Dr. Hutton specifically admitted that in arriving at his opinion he did not conduct any testing. Dr. Hutton’s methodology was not reliable because it was not derived from the scientific method; rather, it amounted to asking the district court simply to “tak[e] the expert’s word for it.” See Hendrix, 609 F.3d at 1201 (quotation omitted). As we have repeatedly cautioned, “nothing in either Daubert or the Federal Rules of Evidence requires a district court to admit opinion evidence that is connected to existing data only by the ipse dixit of the expert.” Id. (quotations and brackets omitted). The district court’s decision to exclude Dr. Hutton’s testimony is bolstered by the fact that Dr. Hutton testified that simply stepping off a curb the wrong way could have created the same injuries for which the Coopers were treated. Yet, Dr. Hutton did not explain how or why such a scenario was an unlikely cause of the Coopers’ back problems in this case. See id. at 1197 (“A district court is justified in excluding evidence if an expert utterly fails to offer an explanation for why the 5 Case: 13-10920 Date Filed: 09/27/2013 Page: 6 of 12 proffered alternative cause was ruled out.” (quotations and alterations omitted)). On this record, we cannot say the exclusion of Dr. Hutton’s testimony was manifestly erroneous. See id. at 1191.