Trucking Expert’s Testimony on the Preventability of the Accident Excluded

Posted on October 20, 2025 by Expert Witness Profiler

This case arises from a fatal automobile accident that occurred on September 22, 2017. Blake Haddox was traveling southbound on a motorcycle as Defendant Nicholas Roshon Moore drove a semi-truck in a northbound lane and turned left across traffic. The two collided, and Haddox died as a result.

Defendants Central Freightlines, Inc. and Nicholas Roshon Moore (collectively, “Defendants”) filed a motion to strike Plaintiffs’ expert Lewis J. Grill, a motion in limine with respect to anticipated testimony by Grill and a motion to strike his supplemental expert report.

Defendants argued that Grill is not qualified to provide expert testimony in this case, and that his opinions are neither relevant nor reliable.

 His proffered testimony relates to “four overarching areas” that include: (1) “general trucking industry customs, practices, and standards”; (2) the “operating performance” of Moore; (3) CFL’s “management practices”; and (4) “accident preventability from a commercial trucking industry standpoint.”

Trucking Expert Witness

Lewis Joseph Grill has extensive experience as a commercial truck driver, training instructor, training program director, safety director, and trucking consultant. 

He is licensed as a commercial driver and has logged approximately 2 million miles driving tractor-trailers in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Central America. Grill has published books and articles and spoken on the subject of commercial trucking, in general, and driver standards, in particular.

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

Discussion by the Court

A. Motion to Strike Supplemental Report

Plaintiffs provided Defendants with Grill’s original expert report by the applicable deadline. In accordance with an Amended Scheduling Order, Defendants timely filed a Daubert motion, requesting the Court strike Grill’s expert testimony. Over two months later, on December 4, 2020—well after the deadline to exchange expert reports had passed—Plaintiffs provided Defendants with a supplemental report prepared by Grill. Defendants filed a motion to strike Grill’s supplemental report as untimely.

The Court understood Defendants’ position. However, a review of the supplemental report indicated that the main change is the addition of two new opinions. These new opinions are apparently offered as a result of information gleaned from the deposition of Defendant Central Freightlines, Inc.’s Corporate Representative Thomas Weeks, taken September 16, 2020. Plaintiffs provided notice in their October 2020 response to Defendants’ motion to strike that Grill had “not had a reasonable opportunity to review the transcript and update his opinions accordingly.”

Grill also does not appear to have substantively changed his opinions in any meaningful way. At the time Defendants received the supplemental report, trial was scheduled for April 19, 2021. Defendants still had over four months to review the supplemental report and prepare for trial. Further, on March 9, 2021, the Court struck the scheduling order due to the Covid pandemic and the Court’s excess criminal case load. The Court acknowledged the importance of scheduling order deadlines and complying with the Court’s orders and procedures. However, the Court cannot ascertain any prejudice Defendants suffered as a result of the delayed supplemental report. Defendants have not requested leave to take Grill’s deposition out of time; nor have they filed a rebuttal report.

B. Motion to Strike Grill’s Testimony

I. Grill is qualified to testify about general trucking industry customs, practices and standards

Defendants argued that Grill is unqualified because “none of Grill’s background and experience concerns issues to be determined in this matter.” Defendants asserted that Grill is not an expert in matters of “accident reconstruction, traffic signals or human factors.” However, Defendants never contended that Grill is unqualified as an expert in the areas of general trucking industry customs, practices, and standards.

Plaintiffs responded that Grill is qualified as an expert in the field of commercial trucking based on his experience as a commercial truck driver, training instructor, training program director, safety director, and trucking consultant. Plaintiffs also contended that Grill has been qualified in numerous cases as an expert. The Court found that Grill has decades of experience and involvement in the trucking industry. Therefore, he possessed the necessary training, experience, knowledge and skill to testify in the areas of general trucking industry customs, practices and standards.

II. Some of Grill’s proffered testimony is relevant and reliable

Defendants contended that Grill’s testimony will not aid the jury because the jury can make a liability determination in this case without the aid of an expert witness.

As an initial matter, although not specifically raised by Defendants, the Court had concerns about representations in Grill’s report. It appeared Grill held opinions that elevated the standard of care applicable to commercial truck drivers. For example, Grill states, “in my opinion, the performance standards to accomplish this standard of care are much different for truck drivers than operators of smaller vehicles.” The Court will instruct the jury as to the proper standard of care. Therefore, Grill is prohibited from testifying about any opinion he holds concerning the standard of care applicable to commercial truck drivers.

Further, Plaintiffs proposed Grill will provide opinions “regarding the hiring, retention and safety management of Central.” However, the Court already granted Defendant CFL summary judgment as to Plaintiffs’ negligent hiring, retention, supervision and training claims.

Moreover, the Court found Grill’s proffered testimony about the accident and Moore’s actions leading up to the accident conclusory without underlying factual support. 

Defendants specifically challenged Grill’s opinion that the accident was avoidable or preventable. The Court similarly found this opinion an impermissible conclusion. Any testimony that Moore violated law, regulations, procedures, or policies are likewise impermissible legal conclusions.

Grill’s report provided that “Moore, because of failing to perceive a hazard in time, and failing to make proper safety decisions when he ultimately chose risk over safety by intruding into the approaching traffic stream, caused this collision.” However, causation is an issue of fact for the jury.

Held

  • The Court denied the Defendants’ motion to strike Plaintiffs’ expert Lew Grill.
  • The Court granted in part and denied in part the Defendants’ motion in limine with respect to anticipated testimony by Plaintiffs’ expert Lew Grill. Grill is prohibited from testifying about the topics identified by the Court in this order. Any other concerns possessed by Defendants may be addressed by a contemporaneous objection at trial or through cross-examination.
  •  The Court denied the Defendants’ motion to strike Lew Grill’s supplemental report.

Key Takeaway:

Grill’s knowledge, skill and experience in the trucking industry will help the jury understand the evidence and determine the factual issues of this case.

However, much of Grill’s proffered testimony was excluded because it reached unsupported conclusions and invaded the province of the jury. The jury is more than capable of reaching their own conclusions as to the ultimate issues in this case.

Case Details:

Case Caption:Haddox Et Al V. Central Freightlines, Inc. Et Al
Docket Number:4:18cv266
Court Name:United States District Court, Oklahoma Northern
Order Date:September 25, 2025