## Facts

- Carl A. Nelson & Co. served as general contractor for construction of a Wal-Mart in Macomb, Illinois.
- Robert E. Cooper, an electrician employed by a subcontractor, used a parking area Nelson encouraged workers to use and crossed a drainage ditch to reach construction trailers.
- The ditch crossing included planks spanning the bottom and muddy sloped inclines that became slippery in rain; Nelson placed pallets for traction.
- During rain on July 7, 1992, Cooper slipped and fell while traversing the ditch area; he could not later pinpoint the precise spot where he fell.
- Cooper alleged the fall caused chronic pain syndrome and permanent disability.
- Cooper received an SSA written determination granting disability benefits for chronic pain syndrome and sought to introduce it at trial to support damages and disability.

## Issues

1. Whether an SSA disability determination is admissible under Federal Rule of Evidence 803(8) as a public agency’s factual findings absent a showing of untrustworthiness.
2. Whether the district court abused its discretion under Federal Rule of Evidence 403 by excluding the SSA decision as irrelevant or as unfairly prejudicial relative to its probative value.
3. Whether exclusion of the SSA determination was harmless or required reversal and a new trial.

## Decision

- The Seventh Circuit reversed the judgment for Nelson and remanded for further proceedings.
- The court held SSA disability determinations generally fall within Rule 803(8)’s public-records exception, subject to case-specific untrustworthiness objections.
- The court held the district court abused its discretion by excluding the SSA decision as irrelevant and by giving dispositive weight to Rule 403 prejudice concerns.
- The court held the evidentiary error was not harmless because disability and causation were central disputes and the SSA finding was strongly probative.

## Legal Principles

- Public agency determinations containing factual findings from legally authorized investigations are admissible under Rule 803(8) unless the opponent shows untrustworthiness.
- An SSA disability determination may be relevant in a personal-injury case to the extent of disability (damages) and to causation when it rests on medical and vocational evidence tied to the alleged injury.
- Rule 403 does not justify categorical exclusion of an SSA disability decision where probative value is high; potential jury confusion or undue weight may be addressed through limiting instructions.
- Erroneous exclusion of highly probative evidence on central issues can warrant reversal when it may have affected the verdict.

## Conclusion

The Seventh Circuit ordered a new trial because the district court improperly excluded Cooper’s SSA disability determination; the decision was generally admissible as a public record under Rule 803(8), and Rule 403 concerns did not justify exclusion where disability and causation were the core issues.


Cooper v. Carl A. Nelson & Co., 211 F.3d 1008 (7th Cir. 2000)