Hardyman v. Norfolk & Western Railway Co.

• Decision Date: 22 September 2000
• Docket Number: No. 99-4218,99-4218
• Citation: 243 F.3d 255
• Parties: (6th Cir. 2001) Gary W. Hardyman, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Norfolk & Western Railway Company; Norfolk Southern Railway Company; Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway Company, Defendants-Appellees. Argued:
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit

Page 255

243 F.3d 255 (6th Cir. 2001)

Gary W. Hardyman, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Norfolk & Western Railway Company; Norfolk Southern Railway Company; Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway Company, Defendants-Appellees.

No. 99-4218

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT

Argued: September 22, 2000

Decided and Filed: March 13, 2001

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio at Columbus. No. 97-01103--James L. Graham, District Judge. [Copyrighted Material Omitted] Howard M. Hackman, HOWARD M. HACKMAN CO., Columbus, Ohio, for Appellant. Robert Leland Evans, PORTER, WRIGHT, MORRIS & ARTHUR, Columbus, Ohio, for Appellees.

Robert Leland Evans, Craig R. Carlson, PORTER, WRIGHT, MORRIS & ARTHUR, Columbus, Ohio, for Appellees.

Before: BATCHELDER, COLE, and GIBSON, ^* Circuit Judges.

OPINION

R. GUY COLE, JR., Circuit Judge.

Plaintiff-Appellant Gary Hardyman filed suit against Defendant-Appellee Norfolk & Western Railway Company ("Norfolk") ¹ pursuant to the Federal Employers Liability Act ("FELA"), alleging that as a result of Norfolk's negligence, he developed Carpal Tunnel Syndrome ("CTS") during the course of his employment as a conductor and brakeman for Norfolk. After granting Norfolk's motion in limine to exclude all Plaintiff's proffered expert testimony, the district court granted summary judgment in favor of Norfolk, holding, "As those experts' testimony was the only evidence of causation proffered by plaintiff, the court's ruling on defendant's motion in limine necessitates a finding that plaintiff has failed to show that a genuine issue of fact exists as to whether defendant's alleged negligence was, in whole or in part, the cause of his injury." Plaintiff appeals the district court's decision, asserting: (1) the district court abused its discretion in excluding his proffered expert testimony as it was sufficiently reliable under Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579 (1993); and (2) even without such testimony, the district court erred in granting Norfolk's motion for summary judgment because Plaintiff was not required to present expert testimony on the specific issue of causation in order to establish a causal inference, and such testimony was not in fact the only evidence of causation. For the reasons that follow, we REVERSE the district court's decision and REMAND the case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

BACKGROUND

Plaintiff worked for Norfolk as a conductor and brakeman from 1967 to 1996. During his employment, Plaintiff performed a variety of tasks, including winding hand brakes, coupling air hoses, throwing switches, pushing and pulling air valve handles, lifting and shaking cut levers, aligning drawbars, carrying tools weighing between 75 and 85 pounds, climbing ladders, and catching, climbing, and holding onto moving locomotive cars. In 1994, Plaintiff was diagnosed with CTS and, under a doctor's supervision, began treating his condition with vitamin supplements and wrist splints. In 1996, a non-work-related heart condition caused Plaintiff to terminate his position with Norfolk. Because the treatment for his CTS had been unsuccessful, Plaintiff underwent surgery on his right hand in late 1997 and his left hand in early 1998.

DISCUSSION

I. Standard of Review

We review a district court's decision to admit or exclude expert testimony for abuse of discretion, see General Elec. Co. v. Joiner, 522 U.S. 136, 138-139 (1997), finding such an abuse only if we are firmly convinced that the district court erred,see Greenwell v. Boatwright, 184 F.3d 492, 495 (6th Cir. 1999). We recognize that deference to the district court's decisions "is the hallmark of abuse of discretion review." Joiner, 522 U.S. at 143. We review an order by the district court granting summary judgment de novo. See Babbitt v. Norfolk & W. Ry. Co., 104 F.3d 89, 90 (6th Cir. 1997). Summary judgment is appropriately granted if the "pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Fed R. Civ. P. 56(c). We must view the record and any inferences to be drawn from the underlying facts in the light most favorable to the party opposing summary judgment. See Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587-88 (1986). However, "[t]he mere existence of a scintilla of evidence in support of the plaintiff's position will be insufficient; there must be evidence on which the jury could reasonably find for the plaintiff."Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 252 (1986).

II. FELA

We recognize FELA to be "a remedial and humanitarian statute . . . enacted by Congress to afford relief to employees from injury incurred in the railway industry." Mounts v. Grand Trunk W. R.R., 198 F.3d 578, 580 (6th Cir. 2000) (quotingEdsall v. Penn Cent. Transp. Co., 479 F.2d 33, 35 (6th Cir. 1973)). Congress intended FELA to be a departure from common law principles of liability as a "response to the special needs of railroad workers who are daily exposed to the risks inherent in railroad work and are helpless to provide adequately for their own safety." Aparicio v. Norfolk & W. Ry. Co., 84 F.3d 803, 807 (6th Cir. 1996) (quoting Sinkler v. Missouri Pac. R.R. Co., 356 U.S. 326, 329 (1958)). FELA provides:

Every common carrier by railroad while engaging in commerce between any of the several states . . . shall be liable in damages to any person suffering injury while he is employed by such carrier in such commerce . . . for such injury . . . resulting in whole or in part from the negligence of any of the officers, agents, or employees of such carrier . . . .

45 U.S.C. § 51 (1994). This Court has held that a FELA plaintiff asserting a cause of negligence against its employer "must prove the traditional common law elements of negligence: duty, breach, foreseeability, and causation." Adams v. CSX Transp., 899 F.2d 536, 539 (6th Cir. 1990) (quoting Robert v. Consolidated Rail Corp., 832 F.2d 3, 6 (1st Cir. 1987)).

[The] plaintiff must present more than a scintilla of evidence to prove that (1) an injury occurred while the plaintiff was working within the scope of his or her employment with the railroad, (2) the employment was in the furtherance of the railroad's interstate transportation business, (3) the employer railroad was negligent, and (4) the employer's negligence played some part in causing the injury for which compensation is sought under the Act.

Aparicio, 84 F.3d at 810 (citing Green v. River Terminal Ry. Co., 763 F.2d 805, 808 (6th Cir. 1985)).

In Aparicio, we addressed a claim of negligence under FELA where the district court had granted defendant's motion for judgment as a matter of law at the close of plaintiff's case. We held that in FELA cases, a jury question is created if:

the proofs justify with reason the conclusion that employer negligence played any part, even the slightest, in producing the injury or death for which damages are sought. It does not matter that, from the evidence, the jury may also with reason, on grounds of probability, attribute the result to other causes, including the employee's contributory negligence. Judicial appraisal of the proofs to determine whether a jury question is presented is narrowly limited to the single inquiry whether, with reason, the conclusion may be drawn that negligence of the employer played any part at all in the injury or death. Judges are to fix their sights primarily to make that appraisal and, if that test is met, are bound to find that a case for the jury is made out whether or not the evidence allows the jury a choice of other probabilities. The statute expressly imposes liability upon the employer to pay damages for injury or death due "in whole or in part" to its negligence.

Id. at 807 (citing Rogers v. Missouri Pac. R.R. Co., 352 U.S. 500, 506-07 (1957)) (footnotes omitted). As Aparicioinstructs, a plaintiff pursuing a claim under FELA is required "to present more than a scintilla of evidence in order to create a jury question on the issue of employer liability, but not much more." Id. at 810. Accord Harbin v. Burlington N. R.R. Co., 921 F.2d 129, 131 (7th Cir. 1990) (holding that a trial judge "must submit an [FELA] case to the jury when there is even slight evidence of negligence").

A. Causation

The test for causation in FELA cases is whether an employer's actions played any part at all in causing the injury. See Aparicio, 84 F.3d at 810 ("Given the 'relaxed' standard of causation in Federal Employers' Liability Act cases, . . . we believe Aparicio has presented more than a scintilla of evidence to prove that Norfolk & Western's breach of its duty to him was a causal factor, at least in small part, of his injuries."); Adams, 899 F.2d at 539 ("[T]he causation test is whether 'employer negligence played any part, even the slightest, in producing the injury' for which the plaintiff seeks recovery.") (citing Rogers, 352 U.S. at 506).

Dispositive of Norfolk's motion for summary judgment was the district court's determination that Plaintiff could not establish the causation element of his negligence claim without expert causation testimony. Prior to granting Norfolk's motion for summary judgment, the district court held a hearing on Norfolk's motion in limine, which sought to exclude the causation testimony of Plaintiff's experts Dr. Douglas Linz, James A. Dewees, Dr. Renee Blaha, Dr. Donald Behrman, Dr. Maureen Delphia, and Dr. Christopher Cantell. ² Upon granting the motion in limine the district court then granted summary judgment in favor of Norfolk, reasoning that without the testimony of these experts, Plaintiff could not establish causation as a matter of law.

B. Expert Testimony

Rule 702 of the Federal Rules of Evidence states: If scientific, technical,...