Thursday, November 02, 2006

Harmless Error to Admit Whole-Body Impairment Testimony for Psychological Injury, Tennessee High Court Holds

It was error, but harmless error, to admit a physician's testimony associating a psychological injury with a percentage of whole-body impairment, the Supreme Court of Tennessee (a Daubert state) has held in a workers' compensation appeal. From the opinion:
The AMA Guidelines do not authorize evaluation in the form of percentages of impairment for psychological injuries. Those guidelines specifically state "that percentages are not provided to estimate mental impairment in this edition of the guidelines. . . ." The reasoning for this limitation is the fact that percentages of impairment imply certainty that does not exist in the treatment of mental impairments.
See Craven v. Corr. Corp. of Am., No. W2005-01537-SC-WCM-CV (Tenn. Oct. 26, 2006).

posted by pn at 2:09 AM  

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Fed. R. Evid. 702: If scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge will assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue, a witness qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education, may testify thereto in the form of an opinion or otherwise, if (1) the testimony is based upon sufficient facts or data, (2) the testimony is the product of reliable principles and methods, and (3) the witness has applied the principles and methods reliably to the facts of the case.