Butler Williams & Skilling Blog

Excluding State Farm's Hired Gun

Retired orthopedic surgeon, Robert O. Gordon, M.D., State Farm's long-time hired gun in Maryland, D.C., and Northern Virginia, is apparently retiring to Williamsburg and doing record reviews and defense medical examinations in cases throughout Virginia. Dr. Gordon follows the same playbook in every case, and it goes something like this:
First, Dr. Gordon plays biomechanical engineer and tries to say either the forces from the collision were not sufficient to cause injury and/or the seat back did not break, therefore, the plaintiff could not be injured.  He divines the force of the collision from photographs and will testify that one cannot sustain a low back injury in a motor vehicle crash unless the seat back breaks.  Second, Dr. Gordon testifies that, if the plaintiff was injured in the crash, she suffered soft tissue muscle strains.  He testifies that even severe strains heal within six weeks.  Third, Dr. Gordon testifies that any complaints of pain beyond the magic six week cut-off have a functional component, i.e., the plaintiff is either malingering or has a psychological problem that makes her prone to believing she is hurt when she is not.  Dr. Gordon refuses to opine whether the plaintiff is lying/faking or crazy, but he supports his either/or speculation by repeating hearsay from the plaintiff's medical records.  Any reference to prior depression, anxiety, or use of anti-depressants will be cited by Dr. Gordon to support his insinuations.

In my opinion, the entire Gordon playbook is inadmissible.  This series of blogs will discuss how one might go about excluding Dr. Gordon's testimony.

Labels: M.D. motor vehicle crash Robert O. Gordon