Issue
Did a trial court err in excluding evidence of subsequent formal diagnosis of autism when potentially alternative cause of current condition of minor?
Case SummaryJulien Florez was delivered via C-section in 2009. At birth, he had an Apgar score of 1, underwent neonatal resuscitation, and was eventually diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Fewer than 60 days before the trial date, plaintiff disclosed a report from a psychological evaluation performed for Julien, which showed that he met "full diagnostic criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorder." Just over 30 days before trial, defendants' filed supplemental disclosures in which experts opined that Julien's autism diagnosis supported their conclusions that his disabilities resulted from a chronic condition rather than an acute injury occurring at birth. The trial court granted plaintiff's motions to strike the supplemental disclosures as untimely and denied Defendants' motions to continue the trial date to conduct further discovery.
The trial court further granted plaintiff's motion in limine to bar any reference to autism at trial. At trial, plaintiff's pediatric neurology expert asserted that bradycardia at birth resulted in Julien's brain damage, an opinion he supported with EEG tracings showing bursts class for acute lack of oxygen and an MRI showing diffuse injury in the white matter. Plaintiff's pediatric neuroradiology expert testified that the MRI performed at five days of life showed brain swelling, and that therefore, the injury occurred at or near the time of birth, because swelling is visible for only five or six days after the injury. Defendants' presented expert testimony on causation from a neonatologist, who opined...
