Summary of Legal Case Related to
Automobile Accident Reconstruction Expert Witnesses:

Expert Witness' Area of Expertise:
Automobile Accident Reconstruction

Case:
Wilson v Woods, Et. Al.
http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions%5Cpub%5C97/97-60067.CV0.wpd.pdf

Court:
U. S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals

Date:
January 13, 1999

Case Summary*:
Plaintiff’s car was hit by defendant’s 18-wheel truck at a highway crossing near Yazoo City, Mississippi. Her case was heard in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi. She argued that defendant was per se negligent because he exceeded the legal speed limit of 55mph at the time of the accident. Her expert in accident reconstruction calculated -- on the basis of the accident report and certain published tables -- that defendant’s speed at the time was 63mph. The court found the expert to be unreliable and unqualified in the field of accident reconstruction, and plaintiff appealed on the issue of the expert’s disqualification.

Expert Witness' Involvement in the Case*:
The 5th Circuit determined that the court below was not “clearly erroneous” and affirmed its holding. It noted that in reaching its conclusion the District Court took into account that the expert witness had a master’s degree (and not a PhD) in mechanical engineering; that though he had taught college courses (not in a professorial capacity) in mechanical engineering, he never taught a course in accident reconstruction; that he never took a regular course in the field and had no certification or experience in it; that he only recently shifted into the field of automobile accident reconstruction (from his recognized field of expertise in fire reconstruction and investigation); that he conducted no studies or experiments in his new field or published any paper on it; that he was disqualified as a witness in the field by another court in another case; and that in the case at hand he did not take measurements or collect evidence from the scene of the accident, or examine the tires and other relevant parts of the vehicles involved. In light of the foregoing the 5th Circuit agreed that the proffered expertise was ‘legitimately in doubt”.

*Prepared by P, Mendelson, a New York attorney.

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