--- title: "Vocational Rehabilitation Expert Was Allowed to Opine on Surgery Costs" meta: "og:description": "The testimony of the vocational rehabilitation expert cannot be excluded as unreliable just because it is outdated due to developments in medical care" "og:title": "Vocational Rehabilitation Expert Was Allowed to Opine on Surgery Costs" author: "Shuva Guha Thakurta" description: "The testimony of the vocational rehabilitation expert cannot be excluded as unreliable just because it is outdated due to developments in medical care" --- # Vocational Rehabilitation Expert Was Allowed to Opine on Surgery Costs Posted on August 11, 2026 by Shuva Guha Thakurta Plaintiff, Russel J. Gannard, III, alleged that he sustained injuries on or about April 28, 2023, while employed by Quality Construction & Production, L.L.C. and being transferred by personnel basket from the M/V GOL FORCE (owned and operated by REC Marine) to a platform owned by Arena Offshore, LP, by a crane located on the platform which was operated by an employee of Quality Production Management, LLC. Russel Gannard retained [Stanford H. McNabb](https://expertwitnessprofiler.com/expert-witness/Stanford-McNabb/1524829) as a "Vocational Rehabilitation Expert and Life Care Planner" and [Dennis Boudreaux](https://expertwitnessprofiler.com/expert-witness/Denis-Boudreaux/1558976) as an "Economist and Expert regarding the economic loss suffered by the Plaintiff." REC Marine Logistics, LLC filed a motion to exclude the opinions of McNabb and Boudreaux. ![Vocational Rehabilitation Expert Was Allowed to Opine on Surgery Costs](https://media.jurimatic.com/images/blog_pic_640X480_2026_08_11T181928_815.webp) ## Vocational Rehabilitation Expert Witness [Stanford Henry McNabb](https://expertwitnessprofiler.com/expert-witness/Stanford-McNabb/1524829) is a licensed rehabilitation counselor and certified life care planner based in Lafayette, Louisiana. He is the founder and owner of McNabb Rehabilitation Services, specializing in vocational evaluations, disability management, and transferrable skills analyses. [Want to know more about the challenges Stanford McNabb has faced? Get the full details with our Challenge Study report](https://expertwitnessprofiler.com/order/add?eId=1524829&pId=3). ## Economics Expert Witness [Denis O. Boudreaux](https://expertwitnessprofiler.com/expert-witness/Denis-Boudreaux/1558976) has qualified in federal and state courts as an expert witness in economics and finance, corporate damages, lost business profits, valuation of business and personal injury economic losses. Boudreaux is a registered forensic economist with the American Rehabilitation Economic Association. [Get the full story on challenges to Denis Boudreaux’s expert opinions and testimony with an in-depth Challenge Study](https://expertwitnessprofiler.com/order/add?eId=1558976&pId=3). ## **Discussion by the Court** REC Marine argued that the expert opinions of McNabb and Boudreaux should be excluded as unreliable under__[_Daubert_](https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/daubert_standard) because they contain outdated information and make unsubstantiated assumptions. Gannard argued that the reports merely need to be supplemented to reflect the most up to date information thirty days prior to trial. REC Marine did not seem to contest the methodology by which McNabb and Boudreaux formed their opinions, except to say that they rely on outdated information. With the exception of the "Pre-and Post-Surgery Treatment" section and the "Right Knee Arthroscopy" section of McNabb's December 2023 report, however, REC Marine did not argue that the expert reports were based on insufficient facts or data at the time they were created. Instead, REC Marine's primary concern appears to be that the expert reports have not yet been supplemented since the original trial date was continued. For example, REC Marine complained that the Vocational Prognosis in McNabb's December 2023 report does not consider Gannard's partial knee replacement surgery that occurred in May of 2025. REC Marine also complained that McNabb's November 2024 report did not consider Dr. Michael Duval's January 2026 deposition testimony that Gannard's right ankle and right knee were currently at MMI. Similarly, REC Marine argued that Boudreaux's December 2024 report is outdated because it is based on McNabb's reports. Gannard acknowledges that the expert reports are out of date, but asserted that [Rule 26](https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/rule_26) does not require him to supplement the expert reports until thirty days before trial. The Court's current scheduling order is silent on supplements to expert reports, and Rule 26 directs supplementation "at least 30 days before trial." Here, Gannard has not attempted to "deliver the lion's share of his expert information" after the production deadline. While the expert reports may currently be outdated due to developments in Gannard's medical care since the time the reports were drafted, the inaccuracies can be cured with supplemental reports reflecting up to date information. Thus, the expert testimony of McNabb and Boudreaux cannot be excluded as unreliable at this time. As to the "Pre-and Post-Surgery Treatment" section and the "Right Knee Arthroscopy" section of McNabb's December 2023 report, it appears that these sections were based on outdated information at the time the report was drafted. These sections estimate the cost of anticipated surgical treatment, but Duval testified that he performed a "meniscal repair" surgery on Gannard on August 16, 2023—about three to four months before McNabb created his December 2023 Report. McNabb's November 2024 report, however, appears to cure this error, noting "8/16/23 Duval — Procedure: arthroscopy of the right knee with meniscectomy." The Court found that McNabb's failure to consider the fact the Gannard had already underwent surgery when he calculated an estimated cost of the surgery in his December 2023 report is not enough to exclude his testimony as unreliable. The November 2024 report corrected the inaccuracy and reflected the updated information. Any further inaccuracies as a result of Gannard's medical developments can be cured with supplemental reports reflecting up-to-date information. ## **Held** The Court denied without prejudice REC Marine's motion to exclude the opinions of Stanford McNabb and Dennis Boudreaux. ## **Key Takeaway** Supplemental disclosures are not intended to provide an extension of the deadline by which a party must deliver the lion's share of its expert information. For example, an expert may not offer "enhanced" opinions based on medical records that were available at the time of the original report. Supplementation is thus limited to circumstances when the information previously disclosed is incomplete or incorrect in some material respect. Supplemental disclosures are permissible as a means of correcting inaccuracies or filling the interstices of an incomplete report based on information that was not available at the time of the initial disclosure. ## **Case Details:** | Case Caption: | Gannard V. Island Operating Co. Inc. | | --- | --- | | Docket Number: | 6:23cv993 | | Court Name: | United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, Lafayette Division | | Order Date: | August 05, 2026 | --- ## **You Might Also Like** ![Computer Forensics Expert Was Not Allowed to Opine on Forensic Tools](https://media.jurimatic.com/images/blog_pic_640X480_2026_08_11T195723_3131.webp) [**Computer Forensics Expert Was Not Allowed to Opine on Forensic Tools**](https://expertwitnessprofiler.com/vocational-rehabilitation-expert-was-allowed-to-opine-on-surgery-costs/computer-forensics-expert-was-not-allowed-to-opine-on-forensic-tools)![Vocational Rehabilitation Expert Was Allowed to Opine on Surgery Costs](https://media.jurimatic.com/images/blog_pic_640X480_2026_08_11T181928_815.webp) [**Vocational Rehabilitation Expert Was Allowed to Opine on Surgery Costs**](https://expertwitnessprofiler.com/vocational-rehabilitation-expert-was-allowed-to-opine-on-surgery-costs/vocational-rehabilitation-expert-was-allowed-to-opine-on-surgery-costs)![Fire and Explosion Expert's Responsibility Opinion Excluded](https://media.jurimatic.com/images/blog_pic_640X480_2026_08_10T201143_155.webp) [**Fire and Explosion Expert's Responsibility Opinion Excluded**](https://expertwitnessprofiler.com/vocational-rehabilitation-expert-was-allowed-to-opine-on-surgery-costs/fire-and-explosion-experts-responsibility-opinion-excluded)![Transportation Safety Expert Allowed to Opine on Alleged Violations ](https://media.jurimatic.com/images/blog_pic_640X480_2026_08_10T164632_5791.webp) [**Transportation Safety Expert Allowed to Opine on Alleged Violations **](https://expertwitnessprofiler.com/vocational-rehabilitation-expert-was-allowed-to-opine-on-surgery-costs/transportation-safety-expert-allowed-to-opine-on-alleged-violations-)![Accounting Expert Allowed to Opine on Monetary Damages](https://media.jurimatic.com/images/blog_pic_640X480_2026_08_07T173048_9091.webp) [**Accounting Expert Allowed to Opine on Monetary Damages**](https://expertwitnessprofiler.com/vocational-rehabilitation-expert-was-allowed-to-opine-on-surgery-costs/accounting-expert-allowed-to-opine-on-monetary-damages)