KNM Secures Summary Judgment Victory for Class 1 Railroad

Andrew Bell in the Peoria Office secured a summary judgment on behalf of one of our Class I railroad clients. Plaintiff claimed that her cancer, which developed years after retiring from railroad employment, was caused by exposure to diesel exhaust and asbestos. After filing the lawsuit, Plaintiff, through her counsel, hired a doctor to serve as an expert witness to testify that her cancer was caused by occupational exposures. The doctor testified in his deposition that he concluded Plaintiff’s cancer was linked to workplace exposures after relying on various research articles found when googling whether the substances at issue in this lawsuit may cause the type of cancer. The doctor did not keep a list of all the internet publications he relied on in rendering his opinions. The Court excluded the doctor’s opinions applying the Daubert standard finding that the doctor’s methodology lacked reliability. The Court found that the doctor applied flawed methodology and that his general causation opinions should be excluded. After excluding this doctor’s testimony, the Court then granted Summary Judgment in favor of the railroad because the Plaintiff’s claim lacked expert medical evidence to support her claims.