ALTHOUGH PLAINTIFF’S EXPERT IN THIS ELEVATOR ACCIDENT CASE WAS NOT A PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER, HE HAD BEEN QUALIFIED AS AN EXPERT IN 120 CASES; THE JUDGE SHOULD NOT HAVE SUMMARILY DISQUALIFIED HIM (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the trial judge should not have disqualified plaintiff’s expert in this elevator accident case. Although the expert was not a professional engineer, he had been qualified as an expert in over 120 state and federal cases:

Supreme Court erred in summarily disqualifying the opinion of Patrick A. Carrajat as an expert. Although Carrajat was not a professional engineer, he nonetheless had the requisite knowledge and experience to render an opinion on the cause of the accident, as he averred that he had been qualified as an elevator expert and testified as an expert witness 120 times in state and federal courts throughout the country … . Furthermore, challenges regarding an expert witness’ qualifications affect the weight to be accorded the expert’s views, not their admissibility … .

Plaintiff’s expert’s affidavit creates issues of fact as to both the nature of the incident, and the cause of the incident. While defendants’ experts opined that the elevator could not have malfunctioned as plaintiff described, and that the elevator descended to the lobby at regular speed, Carrajat disputed this and posited ways in which the elevator could have malfunctioned that were consistent with plaintiff’s account of the accident. Given the conflicting expert affidavits, the building defendants have not established their entitlement to summary judgment … . Escolastico v Rigs Mgt. Co., LLC, 2024 NY Slip Op 05769, First Dept 11-19-24

Practice Point: Here in this elevator-accident case plaintiff’s expert was not a professional engineer but had been qualified as an expert in over 120 cases. It was reversible error to summarily disqualify him.