Court: Court of Appeals of Ohio, Eighth Appellate District, Cuyahoga CountyJurisdiction: FederalCase Name: Howell v. CONRAILCitation: 2019-Ohio-2434
Facts
The plaintiff worked for the defendant Conrail from 1975 until his retirement in 2013. The plaintiff earlier worked in track maintenance and was later shifted to signal department. His work mainly involved repairing and maintaining railroad signals and signal boxes and exposed him to silica dust and diesel exhaust. It was alleged that the work environment lacked proper respiratory protection, dust control measures, or warnings about these dangerous conditions.
The plaintiff was also a smoker from the age of 17 until he quit smoking in February 2018. The plaintiff was diagnosed with lung cancer and lung disease in 2015. The plaintiff filed a complaint against the defendant stating that the work environment provided by the defendant resulted in the disease.
During the trial, the jury gave a verdict in favor of the plaintiff and held that the defendant was 60% responsible for the plaintiff’s cancer. The other 40% was attributed to the plaintiff’s own conduct. The defendant appealed and the question before the court was whether the trial court erred in permitting the plaintiff’s treating physician and a witness who had no training or experience in the subject, to offer an expert opinion that the plaintiff’s lung cancer was caused by exposure to asbestos, silica, and diesel exhaust.
The Oncology Expert
The plaintiff’s witness was qualified as an expert in hematology and oncology, as well as a treating oncologist of the plaintiff. The expert had testified that 90% of his practice involved treating cancer, especially lung cancer, and that he had extensive experience identifying the causes of cancer.
The expert testified that asbestos causes cancer and that the combination of asbestos exposure and smoking creates a synergistic effect wherein the impact of those two factors together was greater than the sum of those two parts. The expert testified that there was a reasonable degree of medical certainty that plaintiff’s exposure to asbestos, silica dust, and diesel exhaust fumes in the course of his employment on the railroad were substantial contributing factors to the initiation and development of his lung cancer.
Court’s Discussions
There was no dispute that the expert’s testimony was related to matters beyond the knowledge or experience possessed by laypersons, pursuant to Evid.R. 702(A). The defendant also did not dispute that the expert was qualified to testify as an expert on the plaintiff’s treatment for lung cancer, pursuant to Evid.R. 702(B).
The defendant argued that the specific opinions of the expert exceeded the scope of his expertise. The defendant further argued that his causation opinion was improper because he had no training or experience in the subject. Rather, it was alleged that what the expert knew about the subject, he learned in medical school or encountered for the first time while preparing to testify. The defendant further argued that the only literature the oncology expert was familiar with on the subject consisted of synopses of studies and articles.
The court disagreed with defendants arguments and held that although the defendant was correct that the expert has no specialized training in occupational medicine, as outlined above, he had significant experience in diagnosing and treating lung cancer, and such experience clearly involved identifying the causes of cancer.
Held
The combination of the oncology expert’s medical training and professional experience in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer were sufficient to support his testimony. Thus, it was held that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in allowing the plaintiff’s treating physician to testify as to causation.
What We Can Learn From This Case
The combination of an oncology expert’s medical training and professional experience in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer are sufficient to support the testimony.
About the author
Wendy Ketner, M.D.
Dr. Wendy Ketner is a distinguished medical professional with a comprehensive background in surgery and medical research. Currently serving as the Senior Vice President of Medical Affairs at the Expert Institute, she plays a pivotal role in overseeing the organization's most important client relationships. Dr. Ketner's extensive surgical training was completed at Mount Sinai Beth Israel, where she gained hands-on experience in various general surgery procedures, including hernia repairs, cholecystectomies, appendectomies, mastectomies for breast cancer, breast reconstruction, surgical oncology, vascular surgery, and colorectal surgery. She also provided care in the surgical intensive care unit.
Her research interests have focused on post-mastectomy reconstruction and the surgical treatment of gastric cancer, including co-authoring a textbook chapter on the subject. Additionally, she has contributed to research on the percutaneous delivery of stem cells following myocardial infarction.
Dr. Ketner's educational background includes a Bachelor's degree from Yale University in Latin American Studies and a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) from SUNY Downstate College of Medicine. Moreover, she is a member of the Board of Advisors for Opollo Technologies, a fintech healthcare AI company, contributing her medical expertise to enhance healthcare technology solutions. Her role at Expert Institute involves leveraging her medical knowledge to provide insights into legal cases, underscoring her unique blend of medical and legal acumen.
