Plaintiff, Robert Rone (“Rone”) asserted claims against Kiesha Pettway, RN, and Felicia Crawford, CRNP, for alleged violations of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution pursuant to 42 USC § 1983 relating to Rone’s incarceration at the Mobile County Metro Jail on May 7, 2021.
Crawford and Pettway filed a motion to exclude the testimony of Robert’s purported expert, Ramzy Rimawi, M.D., pursuant to Fed. R. Evid. 702.
Internal Medicine Expert Witness
Ramzy Husam Rimawi, M.D. was an Assistant Professor of Medicine for the Pulmonary, Critical Care, Sleep, and Allergy Medicine section of the Internal Medicine Department at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia since 2014.
He received his M.D. from Ross University School of Medicine, and he then completed his Internal Medicine internship and residency training at NYU Lutheran Medical Center, followed by two clinical fellowships in Critical Care Medicine and Infectious Diseases.
He is triple American Board certified in Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases and Critical Care Medicine.
Discussion by the Court
Crawford and Pettway argued that Rimawi’s opinions did not assist the Court with the decision as to whether Crawford and Pettway were deliberately indifferent to Robert’s serious medical need. Crawford and Pettway argued that Rimawi did not know the actions or inactions that were taken by either of them and he did not analyze the medical care and treatment they provided to Rone.
Indeed, in Robert’s response to the motion to exclude, he acknowledged that Rimawi “does not know what the nurse Defendants did, what the jail or NaphCare policies are, or even what deliberate indifference is” and he is solely a causation expert in this matter, who opined the stress that Robert experienced from his arrest and surrounding events caused him to develop shingles and chronic postherpetic neuralgia, as well as suffer symptoms consistent with post-traumatic stress disorder. These may be effects, but this opinion is not relevant to the claims.
Since Rimawi’s expert opinions are limited to medical effects and do not address whether Crawford and Pettway were deliberately indifferent to Robert’s serious medical need, they are not relevant to the claims. Rather, they would only be relevant as to any damages. Since the Court determined summary judgment is granted on the claims for deliberate indifference to a serious medical need, the motion to exclude was denied.
Held
The Court denied Kiesha Pettway and Felicia Crawford’s rule 702 motion to exclude the testimony from Plaintiff’s purported expert Ramzy Rimawi, M.D.
Key Takeaway
The district court’s objective is to make certain that an expert, whether basing testimony upon professional studies or personal experience, employs in the courtroom the same level of intellectual rigor that characterizes the practice of an expert in the relevant field.
Case Details:
| Case Caption: | Rone V. Lott |
| Docket Number: | 1:22cv509 |
| Court Name: | United States District Court, Alabama Southern |
| Order Date: | February 10, 2026 |
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