Plaintiff’s Expert May Testify As to Alleged Design Defect in Orthofix LRS Fixator, Ill. Federal Judge Rules

CHICAGO — An Illinois federal judge has refused to exclude the proposed opinion and testimony of a plaintiff’s expert in an Orthofix LRS fixator action, ruling that the expert is qualified to testify as to whether there was a design defect in the device.

In a Feb. 15 order, Judge John W. Darrah of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois further held that portions of the expert’s opinion and testimony are sufficiently reliable. However, the judge barred the expert from testifying that the device’s designers did not consider “human factors” such as whether someone with no …