South Dakota Supreme Court

Larry E. Maroney, Employee, Claimant and Appellant v. Curtis R. Aman and A-J Trucking, Employer and Appellee, And…

June 18, 19971997 S.D. LEXIS 71

Summary

The court affirmed the denial of workers’ compensation benefits because substantial evidence supported the finding that Maroney’s stroke occurred naturally rather than being traumatically induced by his work-related accident. It also upheld the exclusion of deposition testimony because Maroney failed to establish the witness’s unavailability and upheld the exclusion of a biomechanical expert because he lacked sufficient qualifications to determine the medical cause of a stroke. No separate opinions were filed.

Holding

  • Whether Maroney’s carotid artery occlusion and resulting stroke arose out of and in the scope of employment.. The Department did not err in finding that Maroney failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that trauma from the accident independently caused a carotid artery dissection or tear producing the occlusion. Substantial evidence supported the conclusion that the stroke occurred naturally and caused the accident.
  • Whether the Department properly excluded Malcolm Lundgren’s deposition testimony.. The Department did not abuse its discretion in excluding Lundgren’s deposition because Maroney failed to demonstrate that Lundgren was unavailable to testify when the deposition was offered. Lundgren had been present at the hearing, and Maroney neither called nor subpoenaed him.
  • Whether the Department properly excluded Dr. Harvey Loomstein’s expert testimony.. The Department did not abuse its discretion by excluding Dr. Loomstein’s testimony because he was not qualified to determine, to a reasonable degree of medical probability, whether the accident caused Maroney’s stroke.

Docket None

Cited authorities

  • Rule 32(a)(3)(B)
  • Fed. R. Civ. P. 1

Cited by

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