 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Austin v. Kerr-McGee Refining Corp.6/29/2000
Tara Austin and other aligned parties appeal from the trial court's ruling excluding their experts' scientific evidence of medical causation. They contend that the trial court erred in applying Merrell Dow Pharm., Inc. v. Havner, 953 S.W.2d 706 (Tex. 1997), in determining the admissibility of their causation evidence and, in the alternative, in excluding their causation evidence on the basis that it failed to satisfy the requirements of Havner. After carefully reviewing the record, we conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in excluding the evidence. Accordingly, we affirm the trial court's judgment.
From 1983 to 1991, Richard Alan Austin worked in the pipe inspection industry near Lone Star, Texas, readying pipes for use on oil rigs. From 1983 to 1985, Austin worked for Tuboscope Vetco, International, cleaning pipes for inspection. From 1985 to 1986, he worked for A. D. Surratt Pipe Inspection Company, where he also cleaned pipes. To clean the pipes, he placed them in a waist-high vat of cleaning solvents, generically called "mineral spirits." In 1986, Austin left Surratt and returned to Tuboscope where, in addition to cleaning pipes, he inspected pipes for imperfections by spraying them with mineral spirits and examining them under a flourescent light in an enclosed inspection booth. In 1991, Austin left the pipe inspection industry to work elsewhere.
In 1994, Austin was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). He died from the disease within four months of the diagnosis. In 1996, Austin's wife, Tara Austin, individually and as executrix of Austin's estate, and as next friend of Austin's parents and two minor children (collectively, the Austins), brought a wrongful death action against Kerr-McGee Refining Corp., Irvin Enterprises, Inc., Basis Petroleum, Inc., and Delta Distributors, Inc. (collectively, Kerr-McGee), asserting claims of negligence, gross negligence, strict liability, and breach of implied warranties. The Austins alleged that the mineral spirits the defendants manufactured and distributed, to which Austin was exposed while working at Tuboscope and Surratt, contained benzene, a harmful chemical that caused Austin's CML and death.
In January 1999, Kerr-McGee moved to exclude the Austins' experts' scientific and medical testimony, contending that the testimony was unreliable under E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. v. Robinson, 923 S.W.2d 549 (Tex. 1995), and Havner. The parties agreed that if the court granted the motion, Kerr-McGee would be deemed to have moved for summary judgment based on no evidence of medical causation. The Austins also agreed that if the court granted the motion, summary judgment would be appropriate because they would have no evidence of causation. The trial court held a lengthy hearing on the motion to exclude, during which the Austins' primary expert, Dr. Daniel Teitelbaum, offered the opinion that Austin's exposure to benzene caused him to develop CML. At the conclusion of the hearing, the court granted the motion on the basis of Rule 702 of the Texas Rules of Evidence and the Texas Supreme Court's decisions in both Robinson and Havner. Based on its decision to exclude the Austins' experts' testimony and on the parties' stipulation, the court granted summary judgment for Kerr-McGee.
The Austins first contend that the trial court properly relied on Robinson but abused its discretion in relying on Havner as a basis for excluding their experts' testimony. They contend that Robinson prescribes factors for evaluating the reliability of expert testimony for purposes of determining its admissibility, while Havner prescribes additional "statistical-significance" requirements for evaluating reliabilit
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Texas Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
By using the system, you agree to TERMS OF SERVICE
|