It's quite common for expert witnesses to present their opinions regarding a party's medical condition in a personal injury suit. Experts are generally required to show that their methodology and reasoning are scientifically valid and apply to the facts of the case in which they're testifying.
It's also common for those opinions to be challenged. In one recent case, the Minnesota Supreme Court explained how to scrutinize the factual foundation of a medical expert's opinion about a worker's medical condition in a ruling reversing a decision by the Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals (WCCA).
|The case
Eddie Hudson was injured while working for Trillium Staffing when the semi-trailer truck that he was driving jackknifed and veered into a ditch. Hudson filed a workers' compensation claim for low back, neck and concussion injuries from the accident, as well as psychological injuries.
Two months later, Hudson and Trillium reached a stipulated settlement under which Trillium agreed to pay Hudson a lump sum of $125,000 in exchange for settlement of all of Hudson's injuries for which he claimed permanent partial disability (PPD), with the sole exception of future reasonable medical expenses for his low back and neck injuries. The compensation judge reviewed the stipulation and approved it.
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