Section 12.13 Proof of Causation of Injuries in Instant Action

• Library: Evidence 2017

b. (§12.13) Proof of Causation of Injuries in Instant Action

The fact of a similar occurrence also may be admitted on an issue of causation of injury or loss. In Deveney v. Smith, 812 S.W.2d 810, 812–13 (Mo. App. W.D. 1991), the court held that it was error to exclude evidence that two other patients of the defendant oral surgeon also suffered nerve damage similar to the plaintiff’s injury during wisdom teeth extractions by the defendant when the defendant contended that these injuries were attributable to the patient’s anomalous nerve pattern in his mouth.

The fact of a similar occurrence also may be admissible to prove causation in a product/implied warranty case. In Albers Milling Co. v. Carney, 341 S.W.2d 117, 123 (Mo. 1960), the Court held that it was error to exclude evidence that other turkey growers who purchased moldy feed from the same...