Gwyneth Paltrow’s lawyers to grill retired doctor after he claimed she ‘recklessly’ plowed into him

The retired optometrist who is suing Gwyneth Paltrow for $300,000 over a 2016 skiing accident that allegedly left him brain-damaged will return to the stand today as the trial enters its penultimate day.

Goop guru Paltrow, 50, and Terry Sanderson, 76, have been fighting in Park City, Utah, courts for more than a week, both giving radically different versions of what happened.

Sanderson says she crashed into him while skiing the Bandana slope at Deer Valley resort, while Paltrow says he hit her.

First to take the stand was Dr. Carl Black, an expert neuroradiologist who had reviewed scans of Sanderson’s brain taken before and after the accident.

Sanderson claims the crash left him with a serious brain injury, but Dr. Black said he saw no evidence of one in scans taken after the crash, noting that he did see damage in scans taken before 2016.

Despite gloomy skies and blizzards in the forecast for the morning, Paltrow arrived in her signature $278 mirrored Rayban aviators, a navy blue coat and $1,400 Prada boots.

Once in court, which was packed with onlookers eager to witness the final days of the four-year legal battle, the actress removed her coat to reveal wide-legged black shorts and a tight black sweater.

It arrived less than 10 minutes before proceedings were scheduled to begin at 8:45 a.m. (local time), but was delayed until 9 a.m. as lawyers for both sides argued over an incident report filed in the wake of the accident and several motions.

Sanderson showed up with half an hour to spare and smiled for the cameras as he walked in dressed in a smart gray blazer, patterned tie and black slacks.

Along with Sanderson, today’s show will include more expert witness testimony and possibly another appearance from Paltrow herself: Her defense team said last week they planned to call the actress before the trial ends.

Her husband, Brad Falchuk, 52, could also appear before the legal battle ends.

The trial is scheduled to end at noon Thursday with closing arguments expected to begin around 11 a.m. Mountain time.

Jurors will then retire to consider their verdict, which is expected to arrive on Thursday afternoon or Friday morning.

Yesterday, the court heard written depositions from Paltrow’s children with Coldplay rocker Chris Martin, Apple, 18, and Moses, 16.

The couple recounted how their mother had been left furious by the accident and suffering from pain that led her to leave the slopes and book a massage instead.

During her testimony last week, Paltrow infamously said that she had “lost half a day of skiing” as a result of the accident.

Apple recounted how she had been skiing in front of her mother and didn’t see the crash, but was told when a furious Paltrow arrived for lunch 10 minutes later, ranting that a “hole” had missed her.

She said: ‘My mom told me. She told us what happened. She walked in and seemed a bit surprised. She said that a hole was put in me, right in my back. She did this move by showing how it happened.

Apple said the collision was discussed over lunch, and Paltrow reiterated that she had been skied and hit. She added: ‘She decided to get off, which she never does, but she was in shock. I’ve never seen her really upset like that. She was clearly and visibly upset and she was in a bit of pain. That’s why she went to the spa to get a massage.

He also described Paltrow as “frantic,” “in shock,” and in pain.

The 18-year-old said Paltrow was still in pain later that night when the family gathered for dinner.

Meanwhile, Moses said that he had seen the accident and that his mother had been on the ground for about two minutes after the accident, but got up on her own.

He added: “I stood there wondering what was going on and then I remember after we went to lunch.”

The 16-year-old said he remembered Paltrow saying she had been hit before going to lunch, saying: “I remember my mother saying she was hit or run over.”

The court also heard from ski instructor Keri Oaks, who testified that the boys had asked their mother to watch them on the slope, a key part of Sanderson’s case, and their lawyers pointed to it as evidence that the head of Goop was “distracted” at the time of the crash.

Earlier Thursday, biomechanics expert Dr. Irving Scher told the court that Paltrow’s explanation was the most logical version of events and gave the jury a brief physics lesson that addressed Isaac Newton’s theory of gravity. .

The director of stroke rehabilitation at the University of Utah, Dr. Steven Edgley, 49, also appeared and told the court that a person who is knocked unconscious would not be able to tell how long they had been unconscious, a direct hit to the Sanderson’s claim that he had passed out for two minutes.

Noting that Sanderson had spoken to ski instructor Eric Christiansen after the accident, Dr Edgley added: “It was brief [the unconsciousness] as much. It’s likely that she had some confusion, but if she didn’t lose consciousness or post-traumatic amnesia, it can’t be called a concussion.

He also said that people with prolonged concussions are often involved in litigation.

Dr Edgley said: “In a more likely than unlikely scenario, in this 76-year-old brain, the concussion should last only one to three months.” There is a wide variety of evidence that when symptoms last more than three months, it is for monetary gain or litigation.”

The presiding judge in the Park City trial has made it clear that he wants Paltrow’s defense team to finish their case on Thursday afternoon, to give the jury enough time to deliberate and reach a consensus.

While the trial has thrilled viewers around the world who have consumed videos that circulate as memes on social media, it has tested the jury, whose eight members have gradually sunk into their seats through hours of witness testimony. experts.

After both sides present their closing arguments on Thursday, the jury will likely make its decision that day or on Friday.