Chandler Exterminators, Inc. v. Morris
| Decision Date | 21 May 1992 |
| Docket Number | No. S91G1591,S91G1591 |
| Citation | 416 S.E.2d 277,262 Ga. 257 |
| Parties | CHANDLER EXTERMINATORS, INC. v. MORRIS et al. |
| Court | Georgia Supreme Court |
Richard B. Eason, Jr., Eason, Kennedy & Associates, Atlanta, for Chandler Exterminators, Inc.
Samuel T. Brannan, III, Warner R. Wilson, Jr., Wilson, Strickland & Benson, Atlanta, for Morris.
David W. Ogden, Jenner & Block, Washington, D.C.
We granted certiorari in Morris v. Chandler Exterminators, Inc., 200 Ga.App. 816, 409 S.E.2d 677 (1991) to consider Whether the Court of Appeals erred in concluding that the trial court should have permitted [a neuropsychologist] to give his opinion regarding the cause of a mental disorder.
1. Based upon the results of clinical interviews and evaluations of four members of the Morris family, a neuropsychologist testified by affidavit that each had organic brain damage "as a result of exposure to, and inhalation of, the chemical Aldrin." 1
2. The trial court granted Chandler Exterminators' motion to strike the affidavit of the psychologist, stating:
Dr. Currie, though qualified to state which mental dysfunctions Plaintiffs may be suffering, is not competent to testify as to causation to a reasonable degree of medical certainty.... Medical causation is not a subject within the scope of psychological expertise. Opinion evidence is insufficient where such evidence presumes exposure without showing evidence of significant toxicity levels. Hull v. Merck & Co., Inc., 758 F.2d 1474 (11th Cir.1985).
The record shows, Dr. Currie's opinions are too speculative and incompetent as to medical causation.
3. The following authorities control:
(a) OCGA § 43-39-1(2) defines and limits the practice of psychology as follows:
"To practice psychology" means to hold oneself out to be a psychologist and to render ... any service involving the application of recognized principles, methods, and procedures of the science and profession of psychology, such as, but not limited to, diagnosing and treating mental and nervous disorders, interviewing, administering, and interpreting tests of mental abilities, aptitudes, interest, and personality characteristics for such purposes as psychological classification or evaluation, or for education or vocational placement, or for such purposes as psychological counseling, guidance, or readjustment. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed as permitting the administration or prescription of drugs or in any way infringing upon the practice of medicine as defined in the laws of this state. 2
(b) In Hammond v. State, 156 Ga. 880(2), 120 S.E. 539 (1923), we stated:
While expert witnesses may give their opinions as to facts, principles, and rules involved in the science in which they are learned, they are not, as to questions lying out of the domain of the science, art, or trade in which they are experts, exempt from the restriction of the rule which requires witnesses to state facts and not opinions.
(c) In Barrow v. State, 235 Ga. 635, 221 S.E.2d 416 (1975), we stated:
Georgia law [OCGA § 24-9-67] provides for the admission of opinions of experts on any question of science,...
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