Court limits economic expert's testimony on worklife expectancy

In Arreola vs. Epic Divers, Inc., Louisiana, Eastern District, Judge Jay C. Zainey granted the courts motion in limine to exclude part of a defense expert's economic damage report on lost earnings in workers compensation case.

Plaintiff's complaint concerning the defense expert's report was limited solely to his assertion that plaintiff's worklife expectancy (the potential loss period) as a commercial diver was properly fixed at 5 years from the date of his accident. The defense expert had derived the 5 year estimate from a case study compiled by Louisiana State University's Department of Quantitative Business Analysis. Plaintiff argued that the LSU study did not satisfy the requirements of Daubert because no other court had ever ruled upon its admissibility, and because it had never been published or subject to peer review.

The court held that the expert would not be allowed to testify regarding any type of reduced worklife expectancy for divers because that was not his area of expertise. In addition any testimony regarding the LSU study was specifically excluded because the Court was not convinced that it was reliable.

For more details and discussion on the case see dauberttracker.com