Florida Injury Attorneys Blog
In Florida, following the Supreme Court decision in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579 (1993), you must object to an expert, such as a doctor, when his testimony does not comply with Fla. Stat. 90.702. Your specific objection under Daubert is 1) the expert’s testimony is based on insufficient facts, 2) is not based on reliable principles, or 3) that the witness has not applied the principles and methods reliably to the facts of the case.
The Daubert case establishes that the judge is the gatekeeper pursuant to Fla. Stat. 90.702 to only allow scientific expert testimony at trial. Toward that end, the attorney must lodge specific objections so that the other side is aware of the defect and will thus have the opportunity to cure it during the expert’s or doctor’s deposition.
However, that is only the first part of the requirement to successfully disqualify the doctor or part of his testimony. The next part is that the attorney must file a Motion to Strike the doctor as a witness or a Motion in Limine to limit the doctor’s testimony to areas that comply with the requirements under Fla. Stat. 90.702. This means an expert’s testimony is dismissed if it is pure opinion. Virtually every expert’s opinion is subject to a Daubert analysis. The proponent of the expert opinion has the burden of establishing by a preponderance of the evidence that the opinion is admissible.
Our firm notes the expert’s name and Daubert objection on the pretrial stipulation/statement, and thirty (30) days before trial, we file the Motion to Strike or Motion in Limine. Berg v. City of Petersburg, 15-008989SLR decided October 8, 2015. Daubert objections apply to Florida workers’ compensation cases: Booker v. Sumter County, 166 So.3d 189 (Fla. 1st DCA August 7, 2015). We recommend a challenge to experts where they do not rely on accepted scientific data.
This is separate from the objections to be filed and set up where the Defendant Doctor has been paid crazy sums of money by the defense to always testify against the injured person. There is an entire set of pleadings we have perfected to demonstrate the bias and unreliability of the defense expert, even though the Judge will still allow the expert to testify.