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Yardman v. San Juan Downs Inc.8/23/1995
ce than it is to prove negligence directly."). We do not, however, mean to imply that Plaintiff may not seek to have such evidence admitted in the second trial for any legitimate purpose that the record will support, including impeachment. Moreover, as noted by the authors of Weinstein's Evidence, supra, P 407 , at 407-40: "Before permitting the use of . . . evidence for impeachment, the trial court should ascertain whether the general standards for admissibility under Rules 401 and 403 are met."
(b) Opinion Evidence
27. Defendants also challenge the propriety of the trial court's ruling permitting a veterinarian, Dr. Bonnie Beever, to give opinion testimony concerning the behavior of the horse ridden by Plaintiff. Dr. Beever opined that Plaintiff's horse suddenly veered toward the infield rail at the point near where the path leading across the infield met the race track because horses are creatures of habit and the horse associated that path with returning to the barn.
28. Defendants objected to Dr. Beever's testimony on the grounds of lack of foundation and that such opinion lacked proper scientific reliability. We discern no error in the admission of this evidence. Under SCRA 1986, 11-702 (Repl. 1994), the trial court may permit a person, who has been recognized as an expert, to testify where such opinion involves a matter of scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge, and such testimony will assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue. See also SCRA 1986, 13-213 (Repl. 1991); .
29. Determination of whether a witness should be recognized as an expert is a decision within the sound discretion of the trial court, and its ruling on this issue will not be reversed absent a showing of an abuse of discretion. ; . Here, the evidence indicates that Dr. Beever has both a doctorate degree and a master of science degree in veterinary medicine and surgery and had specialized in animal behavior. Dr. Beever was informed concerning the location where the accident occurred and she reviewed a videotape of the race. Under these circumstances, the trial court could properly determine that the witness was qualified to state her opinion concerning the reasons for the horse's behavior at the time of the accident.
3. Sufficiency of the Evidence
30. Defendants contend the trial court erred in denying their motion for a directed verdict because Plaintiff failed to establish that his injuries would have been less severe if another type of track rail had been in place at the time of his accident. Defendants assert that Plaintiff failed to introduce any evidence indicating within a reasonable medical probability that a different type of track rail would have lessened his injuries or that the County did not exercise ordinary care in its use of a small gooseneck rail system. Defendants also emphasize that while they presented evidence through Drs. Harry L. Schmidt and Vaughn P. Adams that a Fontana Safety Rail system would not have reduced the extent of his injuries, Plaintiff's engineering and medical experts testified that there was no way to predict the outcome or magnitude of Plaintiff's injuries if a Fontana Safety Rail system had been installed.
31. Responding to this argument, Plaintiff points to the testimony of Richard Fontana, the manufacturer of the Fontana Safety Rail system. Fontana testified that a Fontana Safety Rail system would have made a difference in Plaintiff's injuries because he would not have struck a track pole or gooseneck bar. Plaintiff also presented the testimony of Dr. Derick Swenson, who stated that when Plaintiff was thrown from his horse the back of his head struck the h
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