Construction Expert Allowed to Opine on a Workplace Accident

This is a personal injury case in which Plaintiff, Freddy Lopez, claimed that he sustained injuries on August 6, 2020 while performing construction work on the premises located at 109 East 24th Street, Bayonne, New Jersey 07002 (the “Premises”). Plaintiff claimed that Bayonne Muslims, as owner of the Premises, failed to supervise the work and ensure safety on the worksite. To support his claims, Plaintiff relied on the expert opinion and testimony of Anthony Corrado.

Defendant Bayonne Muslims, A NJ Nonprofit Corporation i/p/s Bayonne Muslims Abdul Hameed’s (“Bayonne Muslims”) filed a motion to exclude the testimony of Corrado under the Daubert standard. Defendant USA General Contractors Corp. adopted the legal argument of the Bayonne Muslims.

Construction Expert Witness

Anthony Corrado has had a long-diversified career in the construction industry spanning over 43 years. Corrado served as a Senior Project Superintendent for a Top 10 Construction Management company in the United States, and successfully managed new ground up and large gut renovation projects up to $150 Million, with over 300 men on site.

Want to know more about the challenges Anthony Corrado has faced? Get the full details with our Challenge Study report.

Discussion by the Court

Bayonne Muslims argued that Corrado's report is unreliable under Daubert because it is "nothing more than impermissible speculation and conjecture." Bayonne Muslims supported this argument by pointing to the fact that Corrado did not physically inspect the site of the incident and solely reviewed record evidence obtained during discovery. Bayonne Muslims further argued that the lack of investigation or corroboration of the record evidence renders the report unreliable.

Bayonne Muslims also argued that the report offered opinions inconsistent with Corrado's own statements. For example, the report stated that there was "no personal fall protection equipment ... present on site," but Corrado acknowledged that Plaintiff testified during his deposition that there was a harness available in the van. The Court holds that such inconsistencies go to the weight of the evidence rather than its admissibility because the testimony is non-scientific and Corrado's personal experience is sufficient to give opinions on this matter. Corrado has worked in the construction industry for over 43 years and has achieved the highest rankings as a Safety Professional with the New York City Department of Buildings. He has also received national certifications, teaching credentials, and owns a consulting business for construction site safety. These factors provide a relevant and established foundation for Corrado to provide a technical opinion on how conditions at a job site contribute to a workplace accident.

Furthermore, Bayonne Muslims contended that the report misstates the law. The Court agreed that Corrado improperly "invaded the court's province by testifying on issues of law" when he stated that by not hiring a general contractor, Allure assumed the duty to ensure the safety of Plaintiff. The Court agreed with Bayonne Muslims that, to the extent the report assigns duties to Defendants, the testimony is inadmissible. Furthermore, the testimony regarding duties relies on inaccurate statements of law. Therefore, it is appropriate to strike testimony from the report where Corrado opines as to whether any of the Defendants had a duty to protect Plaintiff from the fall because the existence of a duty is a question of law for the Court to decide.

However, the majority of the report analyzes the record evidence and concludes the operation of the construction project at the premises fell below industry standards and likely caused Plaintiff's injuries, which is helpful for the trier of fact. The fact that some statements in the report are contradicted by other record evidence or are not corroborated by an independent investigation goes to the weight of the report rather than its admissibility.

Held

The Court denied Bayonne Muslims and USA General's motions to exclude the testimony of Anthony Corrado.

Key Takeaway

The expert's approach to the facts and evidence, such as the choice not to personally expect the premises, is an issue that goes to the weight of the evidence rather than its admissibility.

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