§ 25.06 Opinion Based Upon Opinion

• Jurisdiction: North Carolina

§ 25.06 Opinion Based Upon Opinion

Some courts have held that the opinion of an expert witness cannot be predicated either in whole or in part upon the opinions, inferences, or conclusions of others, whether expert or lay witnesses. Commentators have harshly criticized this rule, Wigmore among them: "There is no mysterious logical fatality in basing 'one expert opinion upon another'; it is done every day in business and in applied science."³³ For example, physicians frequently base diagnostic opinions on the reports of specialists such as radiologists and pathologists (laboratory reports). These reports can all be considered "opinions." There is nothing wrong with this...