| Full Citation | Joanne Petridge v. Hewlett-Packard Company; Civ. No. 01-0058-S-BLW |
| Court | United States District Court; District of Idaho |
| Facts of Case | 57-year-old female with low back pain, diverticulitis, and depression |
| Challenge | Memorandum Decision of Judge Winmill (May 23, 2002) - notes issues to be addressed on motions to exclude plaintiff's vocational rehabilitation and economic experts |
| Challenge Issues |
Correct use of The New Worklife Expectancy Tables Validity of the data underlying The Tables |
| VEI Observation | No ruling was made in this case, and no response was
ever made to the issues raised. The Memorandum Decision notes issues
that the judge wanted to have addressed at a hearing on the motions.
No hearing was held as the matter was deemed moot when counsel agreed not to
have the experts testify. In the Memorandum Decision, the judge questioned use of the All Disabled category by the vocational expert. Based on the facts contained in the Decision, use of this category was a conscious decision on the expert's part, as he felt the plaintiff was better off than the average person with a severe disability, but not as well off as an average person with a nonsevere disability. As noted in The Tables, not everyone fits neatly to an average severe or nonsevere statistic, and adjustments should be made as the expert deems appropriate. It appears that the expert did that in this case. All other issues raised regarding The Tables can be addressed as noted (see links in the Challenge Issues section above). |
| Results | Resolution (May 24, 2002) |
Last modified: Tuesday October 14, 2008 03:27 PM