Osunde v. Lewis, 281 F.R.D. 250

This federal case arises from a June 10, 2009 accident at Franklin Hospital, causing injuries to Adeola Osunde and premature delivery of Joshua Osunde; Joshua died four months later.
Plaintiffs Adeola and Olubunmi Osunde allege negligence, wrongful death, and loss of consortium; no survivorship claim was pleaded.
Defendant Christina E. Lewis allegedly negligent and the accident was the sole cause of the incident.
Plaintiffs seek damages for infant Joshua’s pre-death injuries and later death, as well as mother’s injuries and care; Maryland law distinguishes wrongful death from survivorship damages.
The court construes Lewis’s motion in Limine as a motion for partial summary judgment on the wrongful death claim (Count II) and grants it, limiting trial to negligence and loss of consortium.
The decision rests on causation evidence, expert necessity, and the failure to produce admissible causation proof tying the accident to Joshua’s death.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the wrongful death claim is provable without expert causation evidence.	Osunde argues causation can be established with medical records and expert testimony.	causation is a complex medical question requiring expert testimony; no admissible causal link shown.	No; causation lacking; partial summary judgment granted.
Whether Maryland wrongful death damages may include pre-death injuries of the infant.	Damages for Joshua’s pre-death condition are recoverable under wrongful death.	Wrongful death damages exclude the infant’s pre-death pain and burial costs; recoverable via survivorship.	Not recoverable under wrongful death; damages tied to pre-death injuries must be in survivorship.
Whether to exclude Dr. Piver’s testimony due to Rule 26 disclosures and Rule 37 sanctions.	Dr. Piver will testify on causation at trial.	No timely, supplemented expert causation evidence; testimony excluded.	Dr. Piver’s causation testimony excluded; cannot be used for summary judgment or at trial on causation.

Smith v. Borello, 370 Md. 227, 804 A.2d 1151 (Md. 2002) (wrongful death damages limited to survivors’ losses; causation required)
Weimer v. Hetrick, 525 A.2d 652 (Md. 1987) (necessary proximate-cause proof in wrongful death actions)
Sandler & Archibald, nol. 399 (4th ed. 2008) ((4th ed. 2008)) (textbook on Maryland pleading; damages framework)
Ward, 810 A.2d 534 (Md. Ct. Spec. App. 2002) (causation standard and expert testimony considerations for medical causation)
Giant Food, Inc. v. Booker, 831 A.2d 481 (Md. Ct. Spec. App. 2003) (expert testimony required for complex medical causation)
Craig v. Chenoweth, 194 A.2d 78 (Md. 1963) (causation in rear-end collision; need for expert proof when injury appears after delay)