On June 3, 2020, Matthew Vomero was driving a tractor trailer when his vehicle crashed into a building insured by Travelers Home and Marine Insurance Company (“Travelers”). At the time of the accident, Vomero was acting in the course and scope of his employment with U.S. Xpress.
The parties dispute whether Defendants have presented admissible evidence supporting their assertion that Vomero had such a medical incident, and Travelers asserts that Vomero merely fell asleep while driving.
Defendants’ expert, Dr. Adam C. Sobel, a physician, offered an expert opinion that prior to crashing his tractor trailer, Vomero suffered a “syncopal episode” as a result of laughing, causing him to lose consciousness and the ability to steer his vehicle. Travelers filed a motion to exclude Sobel’s testimony under Rule 702.
Travelers did not challenge Sobel’s qualifications but sought to have Sobel’s testimony excluded as unreliable and unhelpful to the jury because 1) his testimony was not supported by evidence in the record, 2) Sobel did not review enough of the record to come to a reliable conclusion, 3) Sobel did not cite to any scholarly materials supporting his diagnosis, and 4) Sobel failed to testify that he came to his conclusions with a reasonable degree of medical certainty.
Internal Medicine Expert Witness
Adam C. Sobel, M.D. is a board-certified internist with more than three decades of clinical, academic, and forensic medical experience. He earned his B.S. through Pennsylvania State University’s six-year pre-medicine/medical program and his M.D. from Jefferson Medical College, followed by an internal medicine internship, residency, and service as Chief Medical Resident at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. Dr. Sobel is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and is licensed to practice medicine in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. He has served as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine and as an attending physician at multiple major hospital systems, including Penn Medicine and Main Line HealthCare.
Discussion by the Court
His testimony was not supported by evidence in the record
The Court found Travelers’ argument that Sobel’s testimony is unreliable to be contradicted by evidence in the record. According to Travelers, because Vomero was not laughing prior to the crash, Sobel’s conclusion that Vomero suffered a laughter-induced syncopal episode is frivolous. However, Defendants presented the testimony of Nicholas Rice (“Rice”), a fellow truck driver, who stated that he was speaking with Vomero on the phone prior to and during the crash. Rice testified that during his phone call with Vomero, he heard Vomero laughing, heard Vomero go silent for fifteen to twenty seconds, and then heard a crash.
Sobel did not review enough of the record to come to a reliable conclusion
The Court further rejected Travelers’ assertion that Sobel did not review sufficient evidence to come to a reliable medical conclusion. According to Sobel’s report, Sobel reviewed Vomero’s medical records, lab tests, and various other parts of the record such as a police report and Vomero’s deposition transcript.
Sobel did not cite to any scholarly materials supporting his diagnosis
The Court similarly rejected Travelers’ contention that Sobel’s conclusions regarding a laughter-induced syncopal episode are unreliable because Sobel did not cite to any scholarly articles regarding such a condition.
Sobel failed to testify that he came to his conclusions with a reasonable degree of medical certainty
Finally, the Court did not accept Travelers’ conclusion that Sobel’s testimony is neither reliable nor helpful to the jury because he did not testify that he reached his conclusions to a reasonable degree of medical certainty. The Court acknowledged that Sobel’s report contains statements such as “it is more probable than not that a person laughing does not simply fall asleep and it is more likely than not that Vomero had a syncopal episode.”
While such language would indicate that Sobel did not reach his conclusions to the degree of medical certainty required by Pennsylvania law, during his deposition, Sobel testified that there was close to a one hundred percent chance that Vomero did not fall asleep prior to the accident and confirmed that he reached his opinions to a reasonable degree of medical certainty.
While a reasonable jury could choose to discredit Sobel’s testimony due to perceived inconsistencies, Sobel’s testimony is sufficient for purposes of the instant motion and such inconsistencies are proper topics for cross examination.
Held
The Court denied Traveler’s motion to exclude the testimony of Adam Sobel.
Key Takeaway
A medical expert is not required to cite to scholarly or peer reviewed articles in order to provide a reliable opinion.
Case Details:
| Case Caption: | The Travelers Home And Marine Insurance Company V. U.S. Xpress, Inc. |
| Docket Number: | 3:22cv700 |
| Court Name: | United States District Court, Pennsylvania Middle |
| Order Date: | February 25, 2026 |
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