JONAS PARKER'S SUCCESSFUL CHALLENGE IN DAUBERT HEARING RESULTS IN DISMISSAL OF ENTIRETY OF PLAINTIFF'S CLAIMS
In this medical malpractice action, Plaintiff alleged that Defendants failed to diagnose the Plaintiff's stroke and provide him with tissue plasminogen activator ("tPA"). During his discovery deposition, Plaintiff's expert testified that tPA would have provided the Plaintiff the opportunity to achieve a better outcome, one that was greater than 50%. In response to the deposition testimony, Mr. Parker filed a motion for summary disposition, or alternatively, for the Court to hold a Daubert hearing* on the opinions of Plaintiff's expert.
Request for a Daubert hearing was granted. At the hearing, the parties submitted more than fifty (50) exhibits, including a copious amount of relevant medical literature on tPA and its efficacy for acute ischemic stroke patients. During the two-day hearing, Mr. Parker extensively cross-examined Plaintiff's expert. Subsequently, the Court found that Plaintiff's expert's testimony did not meet the standards under Daubert and granted summary disposition in favor of the Defendants.
*A Daubert hearing is a trial judge's evaluation of whether an expert's testimony and evidence meet scientific standards of admissibility.