Opinion ID: 1960572
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: whether the trial court abused its discretion in excluding dr. hahn's testimony

Text: In his complaint, Thompson alleged that he was injured when he was struck by an FL type lock ring from a wheel assembly which exploded while he was in the process of mounting the assembly to the axle of a trailer. He alleged that Goodyear was negligent in the design, manufacture, testing, and inspection of the lock ring which injured him. Further, he alleged that Goodyear was negligent in failing to warn him about the inherent dangers associated with the lock ring. Multi-piece rims are used in conjunction with tube-type tires, most frequently on trucks.... Multi-piece rims consist of two or more components which, when assembled and the tire inflated, are held together by the force of the air pressure in the tire.... A multi-piece rim consists of a rim base, the largest part of the metal structure supporting the tire, and one or more detachable side rings serving as a flange to keep the inflated tire on the rim base. The rim base, side ring, lock rings, and tire are collectively referred to as a wheel. For multi-piece rims, the rim base and the side or locking rings are the primary components which support the tire's bead. This is referred to as a split side ring in two piece assemblies.... In the case of two piece assemblies, the circumferentially continuous outer small component is termed a side ring.... There are basically four multi-piece wheel designs.... The third type rim (exemplified by Goodyear's LW type rim) is a two piece assembly composed of a demountable rim base and a split side ring.... Servicing Multi-Piece Rim Wheels, 45 Fed.Reg. 6706 (1980)Plaintiff's Exhibit # 8. The subject matter of Dr. Hahn's proffered testimony had two components: (1) the type of multi-piece tire rim, which was involved in the explosion that injured Thompson, was negligently designed; and (2) Goodyear failed to warn Thompson concerning the dangers inherent in changing a tire with the type of multi-piece tire rim involved in the explosion. Upon review of the record of the preliminary hearing which was held to determine the admissibility of Dr. Hahn's proffered testimony, we conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in excluding Dr. Hahn as a witness.