Rodriguez v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

203 A.3d 114, 237 N.J. 36
CourtSupreme Court of New Jersey
DecidedMarch 4, 2019
DocketA-2 September Term 2017; A-3 September Term 2017; 079470
StatusPublished
Cited by34 cases

This text of 203 A.3d 114 (Rodriguez v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of New Jersey primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rodriguez v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 203 A.3d 114, 237 N.J. 36 (N.J. 2019).

Opinion

JUSTICE SOLOMON delivered the opinion of the Court.

**41While shopping in a store owned and operated by defendant Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., plaintiff Alexandra Rodriguez was struck by a falling clothing display rack. She later brought a negligence suit against Wal-Mart. In this appeal, we are asked to determine whether defendant's medical experts should have been precluded from using terms like "somatization"1 and "symptom magnification" in their trial testimony. We also consider whether the trial court abused its discretion by admitting into evidence at trial plaintiff's past medical history, including her psychiatric history.

We conclude that the admissibility of medical expert testimony utilizing terms such as "somatization" and "symptom magnification" must be determined by trial courts on a case-by-case basis, consistent with N.J.R.E. 403, and we find no abuse of discretion in the trial court's allowing use of those terms under the circumstances of this case. Although use by medical experts of the term "malingering" causes heightened concern since it may improperly implicate a plaintiff's credibility, the term "malingering" was never **42used by defendant's medical experts or by defense counsel during trial, and we disagree with the Appellate Division's equation of the terms used by the experts with that term. We also disagree with the panel's determination that one of defendant's experts, who is a neurologist rather than a mental-health specialist, was not qualified to testify about somatization or symptom magnification.

We concur, however, with the Appellate Division's determination that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting into evidence at trial plaintiff's past medical history, including her psychiatric history, after conducting an N.J.R.E. 104 hearing, in which the court found that the probative value of plaintiff's past medical history was not substantially outweighed by the risk of undue prejudice.

We therefore affirm in part and reverse in part the judgment of the Appellate Division, and we reinstate the jury's verdict of no cause of action.

*118I.

Resolution of the issues before this Court requires that we review in some detail the testimony of plaintiff, the parties' experts, and the trial court's rulings. We begin with the testimony of plaintiff and plaintiff's experts as reflected in the trial record.

A.

While pushing a shopping cart in the ladies' department at Wal-Mart, plaintiff "brushed" a clothing display rack that started to fall.2 The rack struck Rodriguez's right elbow and hand, and she **43used her elbow and hand to prevent the rack from pushing her to the ground. One of plaintiff's children, customers, and the store manager lifted the rack off of plaintiff.

Rodriguez claimed that she immediately experienced pain in her neck and back but declined medical attention because her three children were with her. Later that day, plaintiff sought treatment at a local hospital emergency room. Approximately two-and-a-half weeks later, plaintiff sought treatment for ongoing pain with Dr. Steven Kahn. Dr. Kahn referred plaintiff to a pain management specialist, who administered epidural steroidal injections. Rodriguez reported only temporary relief from the injections.

Because conservative treatment failed, Dr. Kahn performed nerve decompression surgery on plaintiff's wrist and elbow. When her symptoms recurred, Dr. Kahn referred plaintiff to Dr. Phillip Getson, a physician specializing in the treatment of Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS).3 Dr. Getson diagnosed plaintiff with CRPS. Six months after the Wal-Mart incident, but before her CRPS diagnosis, plaintiff was involved in an automobile accident ("the automobile accident").

**44Later, Rodriguez filed a complaint asserting that Wal-Mart's negligence in constructing and maintaining the clothing rack caused her pain and CRPS.4 Plaintiff filed a pre-trial motion to preclude Wal-Mart from referencing the automobile accident *119as a potential cause of her injuries, but the court denied the motion and permitted Wal-Mart to refer to the automobile accident "to challenge the medical opinions provided by plaintiff's medical experts citing to the Wal-Mart incident as the sole basis for her complained maladies."

Additionally, relying upon N.J.R.E. 401 and 403, plaintiff's counsel moved in limine to exclude testimony -- including testimony by her treating orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Kahn -- about plaintiff's prior medical treatment for obstetric/gynecological issues, chronic abdominal pain,5 and psychiatric and psychological disorders.6 Citing N.J.R.E. 403, plaintiff's counsel argued that this evidence had little probative value and that the risk of undue prejudice and confusion of the issues far outweighed its probative value. Noting that Rodriguez "does have a history, a medical history that has to be considered," the court denied the motions in limine and allowed testimony about plaintiff's prior medical treatment for obstetric/gynecological issues, chronic abdominal pain, and psychiatric and psychological disorders.

**45B.

Dr. Getson and Robert Knobler, M.D., Ph.D., a neurologist, were the first two medical expert witnesses called by plaintiff's counsel to testify at trial. Both doctors diagnosed Rodriguez as suffering from CRPS and testified on her behalf as experts in CRPS. Dr. Getson testified first.

1.

During his qualification, Dr. Getson defined CRPS as "an incurable neurologic problem that most often comes following some kind of trauma. It [affects] the nervous system. The primary and hallmark symptom is horrible and unrelenting pain. There are many other symptoms. The exact nature and etiology of this is not clearly known." He explained that when diagnosing CRPS one must "look[ ] and see that there really is no other explanation that better suits that -- the symptom complex, the history and the physical examination, than [CRPS]." The court qualified Dr. Getson as an expert in areas including family medicine and CRPS.

Plaintiff's counsel asked Dr. Getson on direct examination whether he believed plaintiff was "somaticizing" in light of her history of depression. He responded by defining somatization as "the conversion of a psychological issue into a physical problem," and testified that, in his expert opinion, Rodriguez was not somaticizing. He also added that as a general matter he does not believe that "psychiatric or psychological issues have any role in causing CRPS." In his redirect examination of Dr. Getson, plaintiff's counsel specifically asked whether Rodriguez's history of "psychiatric familial issues" could have caused her CRPS. Dr. Getson explained that a treating physician "has to look at the psychiatric history and ask whether or not it has a factor into the diagnosis" of CRPS, and he acknowledged that plaintiff experienced "abuse issues ... as a child." Dr.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
203 A.3d 114, 237 N.J. 36, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rodriguez-v-wal-mart-stores-inc-nj-2019.