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IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF TENNESSEE AT JACKSON
August 23, 2011 Session

CAROLYN WELLS v. ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY
Appeal from the Circuit Court of Shelby County No. CT-000738-05 John R. McCarroll, Jr., Judge

No. W2010-01223-COA-R3-CV - Filed December 22, 2011

This appeal involves the exclusion of expert testimony. The plaintiff employee filed a lawsuit against the defendant railroad employer pursuant to the Federal Employers' Liability Act, seeking compensation arising out of alleged work-related injuries. The parties took the depositions of two experts for the plaintiff, an ergonomist and her treating orthopedic surgeon. The railroad subsequently filed motions in limine to exclude the testimony of the two experts, as well as a motion for summary judgment. The trial court granted the motions in limine, excluding the testimony of both experts. It then granted summary judgment in favor of the railroad. The employee appeals the trial court's exclusion of the testimony of her experts. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for further proceedings. Tenn. R. App. P. 3 Appeal as of Right; Judgment of the Circuit Court is Affirmed in Part, Reversed in Part and Remanded. H OLLY M. K IRBY, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which A LAN E. H IGHERS, P.J., W.S., and J. S TEVEN S TAFFORD, J., joined. Stephen R. Leffler, Memphis, Tennessee and H. Chris Christy, Little Rock, Arkansas for Petitioner/Appellant Carolyn Wells. S. Camille Reifers and Brooks E. Kostakis, Memphis, Tennessee for Defendant/Appellee, Illinois Central Railroad Company.

OPINION F ACTS AND P ROCEEDINGS B ELOW Plaintiff /Appellant Carolyn Wells ("Wells"), a high school graduate, began working for Defendant/Appellee Illinois Central Railroad Company ("ICRR") on December 8, 1970, at the age of twenty-six. During her long tenure at ICRR, Wells worked in a variety of primarily clerical positions, including that of a caller, a general foreman's clerk, a trainmaster's clerk, an IBM clerk, a pickle clerk, and a van driver. She eventually became a demurrage clerk and supervisor, and worked in this position from 1995 to 2004. In January 2004, Wells was diagnosed with bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome. She retired from ICRR on April 1, 2004. On February 9, 2005, Wells filed the instant lawsuit against ICRR in the Circuit Court of Shelby County, Tennessee, under the Federal Employers' Liability Act ("FELA"). Wells claimed that ICRR negligently caused her carpal tunnel syndrome.1 ICRR filed an answer denying liability and asserting several affirmative defenses. Discovery ensued. In the course of discovery, Wells was deposed. In her deposition, Wells described her duties as a demurrage clerk in some detail. She placed percentage estimates on the time she spent doing tasks such as telephone work, filing, clerical tasks on the computer, and monthly reports. Wells described her medical history, including several past surgeries. She also testified about her non-work activities, chores, and hobbies. On August 18, 2009, ICRR filed a motion for summary judgment, alleging that Wells was unable to present admissible expert evidence establishing causation. The motion was denied initially, and discovery continued. The discovery included the deposition of David Haueisen, M.D. ("Dr. Haueisen"), an orthopedic surgeon and hand specialist who treated Wells. Dr. Haueisen testified that, in general, he relies on the patient to give him a truthful and accurate medical history, and then uses that history to diagnose and treat the patient. Dr. Haueisen first began treating Wells on January 26, 2004, when Wells was 59 years old and had worked for the railroad 34 years. When Dr. Haueisen first began treating Wells, her symptoms included numbness and tingling in both hands and an occasional inability to pick up things. In taking Wells' medical history, Dr. Haueisen said, they "talked a little bit about" her clerical activities, which included typing, writing, and telephone work for eight hours a day, five days a week. He noted that

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Wells was later permitted to amend her complaint to allege cubital tunnel syndrome as well.

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Wells told him her symptoms worsened with typing. Dr. Haueisen was questioned at length about the medical history that was taken: Q: If [Wells'] summary of her job duties and her history that she gave you were inaccurate or untruthful, would that affect your opinion in this case? A: Well, I didn't take much of a history

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