Firm Wins Appeal In Case Defining The Role of Expert Testimony

In a case which further defines the role of expert testimony in establishing causation in Massachusetts tort actions, Klieman & Lyons successfully prosecuted the appeal of a Superior Court judgment dismissing an action against a rehabilitation facility for lack of expert testimony establishing a nexus between negligent conduct and the harm alleged.  The case involved an elderly patient who was uninjured before being wheeled into a bathroom by an aide who sustained a fall sometime after being left alone by the aide in violation of hospital protocols and who was later found to have suffered a broken leg apparently during the fall. The Appeals Court affirmed the principle that “where a determination of causation lies within ‘general human knowledge and experience’ expert testimony is not required”.  Read the full text of the opinion in the case of Pitts v. Wingate at Brighton, No. 11-P-1811 (July 26, 2012).  Pitts v. Wingate at Brighton, No. 11-P-1811