Hashmi v. Kelly

Summary

The Kentucky Supreme Court held that the trial court abused its discretion by admitting a treating physician’s deposition testimony concerning the medical-malpractice standard of care without proper expert disclosure under CR 26.02(4) and without adequate foundation. The error was nevertheless harmless because the physician’s isolated and vague statement was cumulative of other expert testimony, so the court reversed the Court of Appeals and reinstated the trial-court judgment.

Holdings

1. A party offering a witness as an expert must specifically identify the witness and provide the disclosure required by CR 26.02(4); a broad catchall designation such as "Any and all other treating physicians" is insufficient.
2. The ten-day objection deadline in CR 30.02(4)(e) does not prevent a party from making an objection at trial when the opposing party's failure to disclose the witness as an expert deprived the objecting party of reasonable notice and an opportunity to resolve the objection before trial.
3. A deposition may not be used to introduce testimony that would be inadmissible if the witness testified live at trial; undisclosed and inadequately founded expert testimony is inadmissible through the deposition as well.
4. The trial court's erroneous admission of Dr. Johnstone's standard-of-care testimony was harmless and did not require reversal.

Questions Presented

1. Whether CR 30.02(4)(e)'s ten-day deadline for objections to video depositions barred the appellee from objecting at trial to the admissibility of undisclosed expert testimony.
2. Whether CR 26.02(4) required Dr. Hashmi to specifically identify Dr. Johnstone as an expert witness and provide the required subject matter, opinions, facts, and grounds disclosures.
3. Whether Dr. Johnstone's standard-of-care testimony was admissible through his deposition under CR 32.01 when the testimony would not have been admissible from a live witness.
4. Whether the trial court's admission of Dr. Johnstone's standard-of-care testimony constituted reversible error.

Disposition

reversed