Maritime Expert Witness Opinion Found Unhelpful Due to Unreliable Photographs

This case involves a plaintiff who fell in a shower stall onboard a ship when the ship changed its course.

ByZach Barreto

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Updated onNovember 16, 2022

Maritime Expert Witness Opinion Found Unhelpful Due to Unreliable Photographs

Court: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana
Jurisdiction
: Federal
Case Name
: O’Bryant v. Gray Ins. Co
Citation
: 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 172275

The plaintiff sued the defendant for unsafe conditions for the shower stalls. They retained a maritime expert witness to discuss liability.

The maritime expert gave opinions on the incident, all of which the court found unhelpful. The court ruled to exclude the expert witness’s testimony.

Facts

The plaintiff was a seaman working on the defendant company’s ship. One day he was taking a shower after work when, unknowingly to him, the vessel changed its course. The plaintiff injured himself when he slipped and fell in the shower stall. He sued the shipowner company for failing to meet the duty of care in constructing and equipping the shower stalls. The plaintiff hired a maritime expert witness to establish liability.

The Plaintiff’s Maritime Expert Witness

The maritime expert witness offered five views related to this incident. First, he opined that this accident was avoidable. He claimed if the dispatcher had followed the instructions and not directed the vessel to sail, no damage to the plaintiff would have occurred. Second, the captain of the ship should have advised the personnel and riggers of the change of course under prevailing sea conditions. Third, the vessel’s larger shower stalls should have had handrails or pick-up bars. Fourth, the shower stalls on the ship should have had sufficient non-skid flooring. Finally, no documentation or evidence had been submitted to confirm that the Offshore Worker Orientation was given before the ship’s departure to the sea.

The court didn’t determine if the expert was an expert in the maritime field, maritime safety, and the captain’s role. However, the court turned to the maritime expert witness’s opinions on the incident.

Discussion

Before addressing the expert’s opinions, the court stated they relied on his review of 13 photos of the shower stall. The photos, given by the plaintiff’s lawyers, identified the shower stall in which he fell. The expert acknowledged that he had no idea who took the photos and when the photographs were taken. Thus, there was no proof and no reason to believe the images accurately represented the state of the shower stall on the day of the accident. The maritime expert witness did have a great deal of experience in the maritime industry. Additionally, the expert pointed to some of the OSHA regulations that might be appropriate for scrutiny. However, he did not apply such provisions to form opinions a jury of laypersons could infer upon.

Even so, the court found the expert’s individual opinions unhelpful. The first opinion was not helpful because there were numerous hypothetical situations that could have resulted in injury. There was no evidence the master of the vessel or anyone else committed acts or omissions that fell below the required care. The second opinion was unhelpful because the expert provided no facts to support the claim. The appellant failed to give any testimony. Moreover, the appellant didn’t offer any affidavit. The affidavit could’ve shown that the appellant would have relied on that knowledge and refused to take a shower.

Furthermore, the expert didn’t state the shower was insufficient, ill-equipped, or dangerous on the grounds of any specifications or standards. The standards included the OSHA regulations. Saying other boats have specific facilities isn’t an informed view giving unique information from an expert to a layperson juror. The fifth opinion was also inadmissible because nothing in the expert’s study suggested that any worker orientation would include safety considerations for bathing onboard.

Ruling

The motion to exclude the maritime expert’s testimony was granted.

Key Takeaways for Experts

When giving your opinions in a testimony, it’s important to back them up with facts and research. Although the expert did have experience in the maritime industry, his opinions on the incident were missing foundational support. Citing OSHA regulations could have helped the expert support his opinions. Professional experience and background knowledge are important for expert witnesses. Use what you know from research and your industry to back up your opinions. This way, your opinions are reinforced by data.

About the author

Zach Barreto

Zach Barreto

Zach Barreto is a distinguished professional in the legal industry, currently serving as the Senior Vice President of Research at the Expert Institute. With a deep understanding of a broad range of legal practice areas, Zach's expertise encompasses personal injury, medical malpractice, mass torts, defective products, and many other sectors. His skills are particularly evident in handling complex litigation matters, including high-profile cases like the Opioids litigation, NFL Concussion Litigation, California Wildfires, 3M earplugs, Elmiron, Transvaginal Mesh, NFL Concussion Litigation, Roundup, Camp Lejeune, Hernia Mesh, IVC filters, Paraquat, Paragard, Talcum Powder, Zantac, and many others.

Under his leadership, the Expert Institute’s research team has expanded impressively from a single member to a robust team of 100 professionals over the last decade. This growth reflects his ability to navigate the intricate and demanding landscape of legal research and expert recruitment effectively. Zach has been instrumental in working on nationally significant litigation matters, including cases involving pharmaceuticals, medical devices, toxic chemical exposure, and wrongful death, among others.

At the Expert Institute, Zach is responsible for managing all aspects of the research department and developing strategic institutional relationships. He plays a key role in equipping attorneys for success through expert consulting, case management, strategic research, and expert due diligence provided by the Institute’s cloud-based legal services platform, Expert iQ.

Educationally, Zach holds a Bachelor's degree in Political Science and European History from Vanderbilt University.

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