Dr Alina Fong was the first witness of day three in Gwyneth Paltrow's
case against Terry Sanderson and said she didn't see any evidence Mr
Sanderson faked his injuries
The case between Gwyneth Paltrow and
Terry Sanderson is underway on day three, with Dr Alina Fong testifying she
found no evidence Mr Sanderson was "faking" his injuries.
Mr
Sanderson is seeking damages of $300,000 (£246,000) for "a brain injury,
four broken ribs and other serious injuries" in the civil lawsuit.
He alleges that the injuries were caused by the actress
crashing into him on a ski slope in Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah,
in 2016.
Ms Paltrow, meanwhile, has filed a counter-claim, in
which she is seeking legal fees and damages of $1 (82p).
Dr Fong,
who was the first witness of the day, was called on the stand and appeared
via video link.
She said that when she had first met Mr Sanderson
in 2017 he had presented "a myriad" of symptoms indicative of having
suffered a concussion.
While she said she had noticed "definite
improvements" in the retired doctor, she said she was worried that some of
his issues "may be long-standing".
Speaking to the court, Dr Fong said: "Terry came to my clinic
around 2017… and he worked so hard, he really gave his best effort and we
noticed some definite improvements.
"But talking to him now it is
still showing clearly that he is still struggling.
"We are
getting the point now, he’s 76… (and) I do worry that some of these issues
may be long-standing."
She went on to say she had found no
evidence "whatsoever" that Mr Sanderson was "faking" his injuries.
She also labelled him "an ideal patient".
Continuing
her testimony, she said: "Terry showed up to every appointment on time he
gave his best effort – the treatment is very intensive.
"He was an ideal patient… there was no issue with any of our
therapists," she said. "In fact it was almost the opposite…
"Terry
is a very intelligent man and he didn’t want to be injured… and was willing
to do anything he could to change where he was at."
She explain how she told Mr Sanderson he should travel.
"I
encouraged him to try to get back to doing things that he loved," Dr Fong
added. "I did caution him that he should not travel alone because of his
memory issues and other problem-solving issues.
"But I did
strongly recommend that he tried getting back to doing things that he
loved."
The trial continues.
