Background:  The appellant, Aulette Andries, appealed an adverse final summary judgment on her Jones Act and maintenance and cure claims. Andries had filed suit against the appellee, Royal Caribbean Cruises ("Royal Caribbean").

Andries alleged that her staphylococcus infection was incorrectly treated by medical staff aboard her ship and that this resulted in an incurable kidney disease known as "immunoglobulin A nephropathy" ("IgA nephropathy"). 

The lower court granted summary judgment for Royal Caribbean because it found Andries' experts' testimony on the alleged causation too novel and investigational to be admissible.  Andries appealed.

Issue: Whether the lower court correctly granted summary judgment in favor of Royal Caribbean.

Held:
The Court considered the nature of the expert opinions offered by Andries in this case. Her first expert witness was a physician specializing in nephrology, the treatment of kidney disease. The witness had 20 years of experience and personally reviewed the records relating to Andries's medical care.

The second expert witness was a physician and professor of medicine. This expert had practiced medicine for over 40 years, was a specialist in immunological kidney disease, and had authored numerous peer-reviewed research papers on nephropathy.

This Court concluded the experts were unquestionably qualified physicians, specializing in the areas of kidney disease and IgA nephropathy. Their opinions were forceful and constituted a need for a further detailed scientific investigation. Thus, this Court reversed and remanded.

Comments:

An expert witness is someone, who by virtue of education, training, skill, or experience, is believed to have knowledge in a particular subject beyond that of the average person. Their information is legally sufficient to be relied upon in court.

Often courts will want expert witnesses to prove causation. The goal is for witnesses to have concrete evidence of causation, instead of merely hypothetical guesses as to causation.

Steve Gordon
http://www.offshoreinjuries.com