Madden v. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Record contained sufficient evidence to support Dist. Ct.’s finding that defendant’s medical expert was credible, and that plaintiff’s medical expert was not credible in plaintiff’s wrongful death claim brought under Federal Tort Claims Act that centered on treatment given to plaintiff, who went into cardiac arrest and eventually died in one of defendant’s facilities. While plaintiff argued that Dist. Ct. was biased against plaintiff when finding that defendant’s medical expert was credible, Dist. Ct. could properly find that defendant’s expert witness was credible, where her opinions were drawn from plaintiff’s medical records, as well as from relevant medical literature and data, while defendant’s expert was not credible since: (1) his testimony brought to light his lack of familiarity with numerous sections of plaintiff’s medical records; and (2) his opinions were based on facts that were not supported by plaintiff’s medical records or by relevant medical literature. Dist. Ct. could also discount plaintiff's expert by fact that said expert had innate bias due to his relationship with plaintiff’s family prior to his death.