POST-PALTROW PAIN
Jury hears testimony of doctor's ski-crash 'brain damage'
The doctor who suffered a blow to the head when Gwyneth Paltrow allegedly slammed into him while skiing can no longer do the things he loves because of his injures — including wine tasting, according to testimony on Wednesday.
Witness Dr. Wendell Gibby said Dr. Terry Sanderson, 76, showed signs of traumatic brain damage that altered his behavior after Paltrow, 50, allegedly ran into him on a ski slope at Utah’s Deer Valley Resort on Feb. 26, 2016.
“Terry had been a high-functioning, active person,” Gibby told the court Wednesday. “Every day he was doing lots of things. Meeting groups, wine tasting, skiing, volunteering. After the accident, he deteriorated abruptly and many of the activities he loved to do, he stopped doing.”
Case against cameras
Before the Day Two testimony, Paltrow lawyer Steve Owens complained about the use of cameras in the court.
Owens raised his complaint to Judge Kent Holmberg before the jury arrived, saying cameras were being pointed at Paltrow when they were not supposed to be, in violation of rules that were agreed upon prior to the start of the trial.
The rules allowed cameras but only allowed filming of people talking — not reaction shots.
“Your honor, we have a new camera pointed directly at my client right there on the right,” Owens said, gesturing to a camera set up by The Associated Press.
Owens also complained of photographers approaching Paltrow outside court.
“This has been a problem, for instance reporters being in front of my client’s car, going out yesterday. Cameras in her face,” he said.
The judge said he would look into the issue.
Sanderson, a retired optometrist, claims his way of life was permanently derailed after Paltrow allegedly slammed into him on the slopes and fled. He is seeking $300,000 in damages.
Paltrow, who is countersuing the doctor for a symbolic $1, claims Sanderson crashed into her.
She sat quietly in the Park City court on Wednesday during the proceedings, with a button-down sweater, corduroy pants and her hair tied back as she sipped on green juice. She remained on her phone and appeared to be texting during Gibby’s testimony.
Gibby said that while Sanderson appeared to pass all his tests checking for neurological damage, the former Army doctor failed one exam. Gibby concluded that Sanderson demonstrated abnormalities in his reasoning abilities.
The witness, who works at the University of California, San Diego, said Sanderson’s relationship with his children and girlfriend suffered due to his alleged change in cognitive abilities.
He also rejected the defense’s claim that Sanderson’s health problems were caused by pre-existing conditions and age.
Upon cross-examination, however, he admitted there was no clear evidence that the alleged abnormalities in Sanderson’s brain were caused by the skiing crash.