Shana Hargrove v. MedStar Washington Hospital Center

Summary

The D.C. Circuit affirmed the District Court's exclusion of both of Kevin Welch's expert causation witnesses and the resulting summary judgment for MedStar Washington Hospital Center in this medical malpractice action arising from post-surgical strokes. Dr. Elakil's testimony failed Rule 702 because his opinion that Welch's deficits became permanent rested on insufficient facts or data — he never examined Welch or reviewed any records after 2022 — and on literature that was largely irrelevant or contradicted his theory; Dr. Schulman was excluded under Rules 26(a)(2) and 37(c)(1) because he was disclosed only as a standard-of-care expert and Welch never showed the nondisclosure was substantially justified or harmless. Because District of Columbia law requires expert testimony to establish causation, Welch had no path to prove that element without either witness. No separate opinions were filed.