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Ingram v. Syverson2/3/2004
On appeal in this personal-injury case, appellants Donna Ingram and James Ingram argue that the district court erred in determining that their expert testimony was not based on adequate factual foundation, and in granting summary judgment because appellants failed to show their theory of causation was more probable than that of respondents. Because a physician's expert opinion may be reasonably based on information from multiple sources, including statements made to the physician by a patient, and because causation is an issue best suited for a jury, we reverse and remand.
FACTS
The present action arose out of a low-speed accident that occurred in Rochester on January 29, 1996, between vehicles driven by respondent-defendant Selmer Syverson and appellant-plaintiff James Ingram. Syverson, driving a pickup truck owned by his employer, respondent-defendant Expertise Lawn Care (Expertise), made a left turn as the Ingrams' van approached from the opposite direction. The icy conditions that afternoon made stopping difficult, and the Ingrams' van struck the passenger-side edge of the snowplow mounted on Syverson's turning vehicle.
Appellant-plaintiff Donna Ingram, who had been diagnosed six days earlier with degenerative disc disease in her back (and who had been receiving back-pain treatment at the Mayo Clinic for three years), was a passenger in the vehicle driven by her husband. She asserts that, upon impact, she immediately felt a sharp pain in her low back. She now claims that the accident prompted, or at least accelerated, the need for spine-fusion surgery in July 1997.
The Ingrams filed suit against both Syverson and Expertise, alleging that Syverson's negligence caused both the accident and Donna Ingram's deteriorated back condition. To support their claims, the Ingrams solicited the testimony of Dr. R. A. Klassen, Donna Ingram's treating surgeon, who testified that her condition worsened after the collision, and that her spine-fusion surgery "was related to the increasing pain that she had following the accident."
On cross-examination, however, Dr. Klassen admitted that he was unable to causally connect Donna Ingram's symptoms to the accident solely from his own findings and examination, and relied upon her statements that her pain resulted from the accident. Further, Dr. Klassen conceded that Donna Ingram's injuries might have resulted from the natural progression of her degenerative back disease, rather than from the accident.
Respondents moved for summary judgment, claiming that the Ingrams failed to establish that Syverson's alleged breach of duty caused Donna Ingram's back problems. They asserted that Dr. Klassen's testimony was based solely on Donna Ingram's own statements concerning the relationship of the accident to her pain, and that none of Dr. Klassen's physical examinations, standing alone, could link her increased pain to the accident.
The district court granted respondents' motion, finding that Dr. Klassen's testimony was "not based on adequate factual foundation because no medical reports indicate evidence of injury suffered by the Plaintiff solely attributable to the accident . .." Without medical reports supporting Dr. Klassen's testimony, the court reasoned, the only evidence linking the accident to Donna Ingram's pain was Donna's own statement. The court further determined that the Ingrams' theory of causation was "founded on speculation and conjecture" because the Ingrams did not show their theory was more probable than that of the respondents. The Ingrams appeal, asserting that their expert's opinion was based on sufficient factual foundation to withstand summary judgment, and that the court
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