Marsh v. Celebrity Cruises, Inc.
United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida
2017 WL 6987718 (2017)
Facts
A passenger on a celebrity cruise, Kathleen Marsh (plaintiff), slipped and fell on a puddle of water. Marsh brought suit against Celebrity Cruises, Inc. (defendant) in federal district court, alleging that she suffered a mild traumatic brain injury as a result of Celebrity Cruise’s failure to prevent and warn of a dangerous condition. Marsh retained a neuroradiologist, Gerald York, as an expert witness. York concluded that diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) showed Marsh had suffered a mild traumatic brain injury from her fall. Celebrity Cruises moved to strike York’s testimony regarding DTI under Federal Rule of Evidence 702 and the Daubert standard, both of which sought to ensure reliability of novel scientific data. Celebrity Cruises argued that DTI was junk science and that York’s conclusion was unhelpful speculation. However, DTI was the subject of extensive peer-reviewed research, commonly employed by medical institutions, and subject to a low error rate. Celebrity Cruises did not contest York’s credentials.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Ungaro, J.)
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