Worthy v. McNair

Summary

The Supreme Court of Mississippi affirmed the exclusion of an obstetrician-gynecologist's causation testimony in a medical-malpractice and wrongful-death action under Mississippi Rule of Evidence 702 and the Daubert standard. The court held that the expert's testimony regarding the cause of the stillborn child's death was unreliable because it was outside his specialized discipline and based on an inconclusive autopsy report, leaving the plaintiffs without evidence of causation. The court also held that the trial court did not commit reversible error by granting summary judgment after a jury had been empaneled.

Holdings

1. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in finding the obstetrician-gynecologist's testimony regarding the cause of the baby's death unreliable and inadmissible. Although he was qualified to testify about the standard of care, his causation opinion concerned a topic outside the discipline or specialized knowledge established by his expertise and was based in part on an inconclusive autopsy report.
2. The trial court did not commit reversible error by entering an order styled as granting summary judgment and a directed verdict after the jury had been empaneled because the plaintiffs lacked expert causation testimony and a full trial would serve no useful purpose.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the trial court abused its discretion by excluding the obstetrician-gynecologist's testimony regarding the cause of the baby's death as unreliable and inadmissible under Mississippi Rule of Evidence 702 and Daubert.
2. Whether the trial court committed reversible procedural error by dismissing the action through an order granting summary judgment and a directed verdict after a jury had been empaneled.

Disposition

affirmed