20 A.2d 491 | Md. | 1941
This appeal of Conrad J. Langenfelder and George H. Langenfelder is from a judgment entered upon the verdict of a jury in favor of Marguerite Thompson for personal injuries, which she alleged were the result of a collision caused by the negligence of an employee of the appellants.
Mrs. Thompson, a resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, twenty-eight years of age, was injured while returning from a trip to Annapolis on August 4th, 1939, when a motor truck owned by the appellants crashed into the automobile in which she was touring, just after her husband had stopped it at a red traffic light on the Governor Ritchie Highway. Knocked unconscious by the impact, she was taken in an ambulance to Baltimore, where she stayed two days in a hospital and two more days in rooming house, until she was able to return home. On August 9th, while still suffering intense pain as a result of the collision, she consulted her family physician, Dr. H. Stanley Wallace, of Pittsburgh, a specialist in gynecology and surgery. An examination made by him on August 18th, revealed that her uterus was retroverted and retroflexed. He testified that retroversion and retroflexion can result from different causes, but he had formed an opinion of the cause of Mrs. Thompson's condition from a definite indication by vaginal examination. When asked to give his opinion of the cause of the displacement in this case, he answered: "The accident in all probability."
The appellants, objecting to the doctor's opinion, argued that it invaded the province of the jury. In a decision rendered in 1909, Judge Van Devanter explained the province of the jury as follows: "It is true that in trials by jury it is their province to determine the ultimate facts * * *. And it is also true that this has at times led to the statement that witnesses may not give their opinions upon the ultimate facts which the jury are to *505
decide, because that would supplant their judgment and usurp their province. But such a statement is not to be taken literally. It but reflects the general rule, which is subject to important qualifications, and never was intended to close any reasonable avenue to the truth in the investigation of questions of fact. Besides, the tendency of modern decisions is not only to give as wide a scope as is reasonably possible to the investigation of such questions, but also to accord to the trial judge a certain discretion in determining what testimony has a tendency to establish the ultimate facts, and to disturb his decision admitting testimony of that character only when it plainly appears that the testimony had no legitimate bearing upon the questions at issue and was calculated to prejudice the minds of the jurors. * * * The most important qualification of the general rule before stated is that which permits a witness possessed of special training, experience, or observation, in respect of the matter under investigation, to testify to his opinion when it will tend to aid the jury in reaching a correct conclusion; the true test being, not the total dependence of the jury upon such testimony, but their inability to judge for themselves as well as is the witness." United States SmeltingCo. v. Parry, 166 Fed. 407, 410, 411. In accordance with the weight of authority, it has been held by this court that while expert testimony is not admissible on a question which the jurors themselves can decide from the facts, it is admissible when the formation of a rational judgment from the facts requires special training or skill. Consolidated Gas, Electric Light Power Co.v. State, use of Smith,
It is obvious that in many cases it would be impossible to ascertain the cause of a bodily or mental ailment except with the aid of medical science. Matteson v. New York Central R. Co.,
It was urged by the appellants that, according to some medical authorities, retroversion and retroflexion of the uterus cannot be caused traumatically. However, Dr. Wallace asserted that, from his own experience in the practice of medicine, he had no doubt that displacement of the uterus can be caused by a violent injury. Dr. Thomas K. Galvin, of Baltimore, a specialist in gynecology and surgery, who was called as a witness by the defendants, likewise testified that he certainly did not deny that "a rare accident" could produce a displacement of the uterus. It is generally accepted that an expert witness should not be barred from expressing his opinion *507
merely because he is not willing to state his conclusion with absolute certainty. We adopt the prevailing view that the opinions of medical experts are admissible as to the cause which produced, or probably produced, or might have produced, a certain physical condition. Barker v. Ohio River R. Co.,
A further objection of the appellants was that the questions, which were asked Dr. Wallace, did not contain any hypothesis. The appellants cited Quimby v. Greenhawk,
Of course, where the evidence is conflicting or complicated by many details, or where the grounds upon which the witness is to base his opinion are not fully understood, it is proper for the trial court to require the facts to be submitted to him hypothetically, even though he had personal observation.McCarthy v. Boston Duck Co.,
As Dr. Wallace was qualified to testify as an expert in this case, and there was no conflict in the evidence as to the manner in which the accident happened, we find no objection to the admission of his opinion. The court *510 properly refused to instruct the jury that there was no evidence that the plaintiff had suffered retroversion or retroflexion as a result of the accident. The judgment in favor of the plaintiff must, therefore, be affirmed.
Judgment affirmed, with costs
BOND, C.J., and JOHNSON, J., dissent.