Oh Expert, Where Art Thou?

Generally, the threshold issue in a medical device or pharmaceutical drug case is whether the plaintiff has adequate expert evidence to survive a Daubert and summary judgment challenge. If the plaintiff cannot provide adequate expert testimony on the issues of product defect and medical causation, either because plaintiff’s expert cannot survive a Daubert challenge or the plaintiff has not disclosed an expert altogether, the defendant should win the case on a “no evidence” summary judgment motion. Months or years of discovery and case workup often hinge on the presence or absence of this evidence.