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Hobbs v. Harken6/9/1998
Dr. Ward testified that if his assumption of the permanence of this disorder were unfounded, then his analysis of future loss of income would be significantly affected and that his numbers would be misleading if Mr. Hobbs' injuries would not affect his future income for the twenty years that Dr. Ward's calculations had presumed.
The jury returned a verdict for Mr. Hobbs for $340,000 and assessed 34% of the fault to Mr. Harken -- the driver of the fourth car -- and 66% of the fault to Mr. Finnegan -- the driver of the first car. Mr. Harken filed a motion for new trial in which he asserted in part:The Court erred in allowing the economic testimony of Dr. Ward without adequate foundation. The medical testimony was consistent that no doctor established the permanency of any of plaintiff's com-plaints, and Dr. Ward admitted that he assumed such permanency in preparing his opinions. Accordingly, there was no foundation for his opinion testimony regarding lost future earnings. There must be a rational foundation, which was not estab-lished and the admission of the testimony was erroneous and prejudicial.
Mr. Harken's motion for new trial was denied. He now appeals.
II. STANDARD OF REVIEW
It is within the sound discretion of the trial court to determine the admissibility of expert testimony and we will not reverse unless there is a clear abuse of that discretion. State v. Davis, 814 S.W.2d 593, 603 (Mo. banc 1991); State v. Sloan, 912 S.W.2d 592, 596 (Mo. App. 1995). A clear abuse of discretion only occurs when the court's ruling is "'clearly against the logic of the circumstances or when it is arbitrary and unreasonable.'" State v. Williams, 828 S.W.2d 894, 899 (Mo. App. 1992), quoting, State v. Corpier, 793 S.W.2d 430, 441 (Mo. App. 1990).
III. DR. WARD'S OPINION WAS NOT SUPPORTED BY FACTS IN EVIDENCE
In Mr. Harken's first Point Relied On, he claims that the trial court erred in admitting Dr. Ward's opinion testimony as to Mr. Hobbs' future income loss, and in refusing to strike this testimony, as the was admitted without the necessary factual or evidentiary support for Dr. Ward's assumption that Mr. Hobbs' vestibular or other injuries would affect his earning capacity for twenty years into the future in the same way they had in the past. Mr. Hobbs replies that the court did not err in admitting this opinion testimony because Dr. Ward's opinion was supported by evidence that Mr. Hobbs suffered from a vestibular disorder which had continued for a long period of time, "which may or may not improve with therapy," but which would not be cured, and that Mr. Hobbs suffered from cervical, spine, thoracic and ribcage injuries which had reached maximum medical improvement. Mr. Hobbs says this evidence supported a finding by the jury that all of these medical conditions con-trib-uted to a steady twenty-year future loss of income by Mr. Hobbs.
We agree with Mr. Harken that the trial court erred in admitting, and then refusing to strike, Dr. Ward's testimony as to Mr. Hobbs' future lost wages. That testimony was based on the assumption that Mr. Hobbs' vestibular injuries would continue unabated for twenty years and there was no evidence to support that assumption. As both parties agree, the admissibility of expert testimony is determined by reference to Section 490.065.3, which states:The facts or data in a particular case upon which an expert bases an opinion or inference may be those perceived by or made known to him at or before the hearing and must be of a type reasonably relied upon by experts in the field in forming opinions or inferences upon the subject and must be otherwise reasonably reliable.
As Mr. Hobbs notes,
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