This is a products liability case involving an articulating (i.e., multi-position) ladder manufactured by Little Giant Ladder Systems, LLC. On November 10, 2021, Jason Adams fell from a Little Giant ladder and suffered injuries. Adams asserted that he was using the ladder in the usual and ordinary manner when the rung on which he stood separated from the rest of the ladder. He testified that he inspects all ladders, he never dropped the subject ladder, and the subject ladder never fell from anything.
Defendant moved to exclude the testimony of Plaintiffs’ expert, David Kassekert, P.E., on the grounds that he is unqualified and his opinions are unreliable. Kassekert intended to testify that a rung on the Plaintiff’s ladder failed when it separated from the side of the ladder because the welded connection did not penetrate the metal of the rung to which it was being welded, which resulted in a fatigue crack in the rung material.
Plaintiffs moved to exclude the testimony of the Defendant’s expert, Dr. Ellen Wright, P.E., because her testimony does not comport with the facts of this case. Wright examined the subject ladder and performed destructive testing. Plaintiffs did not contest that she is a qualified expert who used reliable scientific methods. Instead, they challenge how she applied her analysis to the facts of the case. Wright intended to testify that the failure of the ladder at issue in this case was the result of a high loading event which overstressed the ladder aluminum, resulting in the detachment of the rung from the side of the ladder.
Mechanical Engineering Expert Witness
David Kassekert specializes in automotive and transportation accident reconstruction and product liability issues, including accidents involving various types of industrial equipment. He has provided technical consultations, investigations, research, analysis, reports and testimony in nearly 1000 cases in more than 18 years of forensic engineering work. Kassekert has been admitted as an expert in courts in seven states, six Federal Districts, 18 Pennsylvania Counties, and the OSHA Administrative Court system. He has testified for both the Plaintiff and Defense over 250 times.
Metallurgical Engineering Expert Witness
Ellen Wright is a Senior Consultant with ESi and a licensed professional engineer in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering. Wright specializes in failure analysis and prevention, fractography, and characterization of materials. Wright has experience with many modes of failure and forms of material degradation, such as fatigue, fracture, corrosion, wear, creep, distortion, and weld failures. She has conducted investigations involving a diverse array of products across many industries, such as manufacturing, transportation (aviation and aerospace, rail, maritime, and automotive), power generation, chemical processing, medical device, and construction.
Discussion by the Court
David Kassekert
The Court held that Kassekert’s opinion in this case is based entirely on “visual examination and photography.” Physical testing is not always required. Basically, Kassekert is not qualified to offer an opinion based on a visual inspection of the ladder because Kassekert has not offered any prior experience in comparing welds, failed or not, and much of his experience with welds is in an amateur context.
Kassekert’s mechanical engineering education and work experience as a professional engineer do not qualify him to comment on every kind of engineering. In his deposition, Kassekert acknowledged that metallurgical engineering was a distinct discipline from his own. Although Kassekert has specialized experience in mechanical engineering, particularly in the automotive industry, he does not have experience in metallurgical science sufficient to assist jurors in deciding whether the ladder collapsed due to an insufficient weld. The Court need not reach the reliability of Kassekert’s methods because he is not qualified based on knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education.
Ellen Wright
The parties agreed that Wright is a qualified expert in the area of metallurgical engineering who used reliable scientific methods. Plaintiffs sought to exclude her testimony because her opinion—that there was a sudden high loading event which overstressed the ladder aluminum—was not supported by the factual record. They emphasized that Adams testified he used the ladder in an ordinary manner.
Plaintiffs focused on the final prong of Rule 702 of the Federal Rules of Evidence: “(d) the expert’s opinion reflects a reliable application of the principles and methods to the facts of the case.” Plaintiffs point to other courts’ descriptions of 702(d) as requiring the opinion “fit” the facts of the case.”
Adams pointed to other courts’ descriptions of 702(d) as requiring the opinion “fit” the facts of the case. The Court held that Plaintiffs misunderstand this case. The issue of “fit” concerns whether the expert opinion as applied to the facts of the case is scientifically valid. Put differently, Wright’s analysis of failure in aluminum material would not fit the facts of this case if the subject ladder was made of plastic. Plaintiffs’ 702(d) argument misses the mark.
Adams also argued that they are not required to exclude alternative causes for the malfunction of the ladder. Indeed, West Virginia law “does not require a Plaintiff, to succeed at the summary judgment stage, to conclusively eliminate all possible contributing causes other than a defect for an accident. This does not mean that the Court must exclude evidence of another possible cause for an accident because it conflicts with Plaintiffs’ theory of the case.
Held
- The Court granted Defendants’ motion to exclude the testimony of the Plaintiff’s expert, David Kassekert.
- The Court denied Plaintiffs’ motion to exclude the testimony of the Defendant’s expert, Dr. Ellen Wright.
Key Takeaways:
- Kassekert does not have experience in metallurgical science sufficient to assist jurors in deciding whether the ladder collapsed due to an insufficient weld.
- Wright’s analysis of failure in aluminum material was supported by the factual record.
Case Details:
| Case Caption: | Adams Et Al V. Little Giant Ladder Systems, Llc |
| Docket Number: | 3:22cv460 |
| Court: | United States District Court, West Virginia Southern |
| Order Date: | November 13, 2024 |
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