Hall v. Flannery

In action alleging that defendants-medical personnel were negligent during and after brain surgery where plaintiff’s decedent subsequently experienced alleged seizure, Dist. Ct. erred in admitting testimony of one of defendant’s three expert witnesses, who registered opinion that heart-related ailment was likely cause of decedent’s death. Dist. Ct. improperly failed to examine said expert under Daubert test, even though plaintiff had challenged said expert’s qualifications and methodology used to render said opinion. Moreover, while expert had sufficient qualifications to render opinion regarding whether decedent had suffered seizure prior to her death, he lacked qualifications to render opinion that decedent’s heart-related issue was likelier cause of death.