Court Opinion

ID: 9748431
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-27 16:01:30.935203+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:25:35.262540
License: Public Domain

CAPERTON, Judge,
dissenting:
I dissent from the majority’s finding that no legitimate dispute existed as to whether an expert was necessary, and from the majority’s interpretation of Blankenship v. Collier, 302 S.W.3d 665 (Ky.2010).
Certainly it would seem that if one party says no expert is needed and the other says an expert is needed then a dispute has arisen about the need for an expert. The failure of the party to identify an expert during discovery while contending that no expert is necessary falls squarely within the guidance given by Blankenship. The guidance offered by Blankenship states:
In order to give guidance to the bench and bar regarding this recurring issue, we reiterate that where a plaintiff does create a legitimate dispute about the need for an expert witness prior to the expiration of the court’s expert disclosure deadline, the trial court should first make a separate ruling on that issue, i.e., the need, or lack of need, for expert testimony in the case. If the court determines within its discretion that an expert is needed, it should give the plaintiff a reasonable amount of time to identify an expert as outlined by this Court in Baptist Healthcare, supra.
Blankenship at 672-673.
At no point does our Supreme Court limit the guidance given to medical malpractice cases. The language does state that the trial court should determine by a separate ruling if an expert is needed where a legitimate dispute exists and, if so, then give the plaintiff a reasonable time to identify an expert.
I would reverse the trial court’s grant of summary judgment on the negligence issue and remand for further proceedings.