Losing a Daubert challenge is not always the end of the world

If an expert loses a Daubert challenge, is it the finish for his or her career? Not necessarily. There are many reasons why a court may find testimony inadmissible, according to a report in BVWire.

One reason is that the trial court simply gets it wrong. Instead of being a gatekeeper and scrutinizing the qualifications of the expert and the methodology used, the court looks at the underlying data, disapproves of it, and excludes the expert’s testimony. With any luck, the expert is vindicated on appeal, as was the case in the 2013 Manpower case (available at BVLaw), in which the 7th Circuit found the trial court overstepped its bounds and reversed. Whether the testimony is good enough to withstand cross-examination and convince the jury is a different issue. Chances are good that an expert facing this situation works again.

Share your experience: How have you avoided or dealt with Daubert losses? Give us your comments!

Extra: BVR is working on a new special report on Daubert cases that will present a wealth of case law and in-depth analysis of the admissibility issues facing experts.