Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
(Please note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this sexual harassment/personal injury case and its proceedings.)
Mr. Black’s Opinions Do Not Constitute the Improper Admission of Hearsay Evidence.
Defendants next argue that Mr. Black’s opinions are based on hearsay and that his report constitutes multiple hearsay. Plaintiffs do not intend to offer Mr. Black’s Expert Report into evidence at trial, so defendants’ hearsay objection with respect to it is moot. More importantly, however, as noted above, expert opinions may be based on inadmissible matters, specifically including hearsay, as long as those matters are the type on which experts reasonably rely.
Experts reasonably rely on a plaintiff’s description of what happened to him and how it affected him. As also noted above, experts may not testify as to the details of that hearsay. For example, an expert may testify that his or her opinion as to the nature of a personal injury is based on the injured person’s hearsay statements, but such hearsay cannot be used to prove the cause of the injury. See In re Cheryl H. (1984) 153 Cal.App.3d 1098, 1120 [overruled on other grounds in People v. Brown (1994) 8 Cal.4th 746, 763.]
Similarly, Mr. Black may testify here that his opinions regarding the defendants’ conduct before and after the 2007 Gay Pride Parade, with respect to plaintiffs’ unwillingness to participate, are based on hearsay statements by the plaintiffs. Nonetheless, that hearsay itself cannot be used to prove, for example, defendants’ failure to prevent sexual harassment or retaliation. (See Part 7 of 7.)
For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.