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Smith et al. v. Braswell et al.

The trial court did not abuse its discretion in excluding plaintiff's expert's testimony after concluding that the preponderance of the evidence weighed against the admissibility of the expert's theory of causation; plaintiff thus failed to show causation and the trial court properly granted defendant's motion for summary judgment in plaintiff's negligence action arising from the labor and delivery of her son.

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Rickman, Judge.

T’Miaya Smith’s son, J. H., began having seizures after his birth and a head CT scan revealed ischemic injuries to his brain.[1] Smith[2] filed suit against Lauren Braswell (a midwife who provided care to Smith during her labor and delivery), and Atlanta Women’s Health Group (Braswell’s employer) (collectively, “Braswell”), alleging that Braswell was negligent in the management of Smith’s labor and delivery and seeking damages.[3] Braswell filed a motion seeking to exclude the testimony of Dr. Barry Schifrin, one of Smith’s expert witnesses, a motion to exclude causation testimony from any of Smith’s expert witnesses, and a motion for summary judgment. The trial court granted Braswell’s motions. Smith appeals and for the following reasons, we affirm.1. Smith contends that the trial court erred in granting Braswell’s motion to exclude the testimony of her expert witness, Dr. Schifrin. We disagree.“The determination of whether a witness is qualified to render an opinion as an expert is a legal determination for the trial court and will not be disturbed absent a manifest abuse of discretion.” (Citation and punctuation omitted.) HNTB Ga., Inc. v. Hamilton-King, 287 Ga. 641, 642 (1) (697 SE2d 770) (2010). OCGA § 24-7-702 (b)[4], which governs the admissibility of expert testimony in civil cases, provides that:

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