The following blog entry is written from a defendant’s position as trial approaches. Reviewing this kind of briefing should help potential plaintiffs and clients better understand how parties in personal injury cases present such issues to the court.
(Please also note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this automobile accident case and its proceedings.)
DISCUSSION
Plaintiff claims that lumbar fusion surgery on February 6, 2009 was related to alleged injuries suffered by plaintiff from the subject incident of August 9, 2007. Although this claim is being made by plaintiff, there is no documents, evidence, or testimony of his experts, retained, or non-retained, that support this causal link. In fact, quite the opposite is true. Not only has there been a consensus among all the experts that they are not willing to render an opinion on causation for this fusion surgery, but plaintiff’s own expert Dr. Sean Finklestein opined that the forces involved in the subject accident were not sufficient to cause a disc injury. For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.
The pertinent testimony is as follows:
Dr. Andrew Greene, M.D. (date of deposition: January 20, 2009; page and line 74:6-11)
Q: Do you intend on offering any opinions or have you been asked to offer any opinions about the relatedness of the surgery to the August 2007 accident?
A: Specifically to surgery?
Q: Yes.
A. No.
Dr. Devin Smith, M.D. (date of deposition: August 28, 2009; page and line 42:13-24)
Q: Okay. Doctor, can you state, to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, that the February 6, 2009, surgery is related directly to either Mr. Johnson’ accident of 2007 or motor vehicle accident of 1992 or 1993?
A: No.
Q: Can you state, to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, what, if anything, caused Mr. Johnson’ need for surgery, other than him being a heavy laborer or doing hard work over time and developing degenerative disc disease?
A: No. (See Part 3 of 5.)
For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.