"Doctor Adams, Jean Smith is your patient, correct?" "Yes, that's right." The doctor looked up. Joe continued. "Please look at the book of medical documents marked as Exhibit 3 at Tab A," said Joe. "Do you recognize these documents?" "Yes," said the doctor. "They are my clinical notes. I keep these with all of my patients. I record what I see and do while treating patients. I record what I hear from my patient and what I observe that is significant. Then I record what I do to deal with the problem."

"Please turn to page 33, which is the entry you made on November 22, 2002," Joe said. "What did you see that day that was significant?" The doctor looked at his notes and looked up. "There are two significant things," he replied. "This was four weeks after Jean's accident. She was complaining of back and neck pain which is significant given her continued complaints in those areas today."

"Also when I took her cast off I had an x -ray taken of her right wrist. I noticed a small chip of bone on the end of the scaphoid bone in her right hand. That made me concerned that the broken bone had not begun healing. In turn, that raised a concern of necrosis. "

Joe looked at the doctor. "What is necrosis and why was it a concern?" he asked.

"I object!" Ms. Richards rose to her feet. "My Lord, Mr. Ross is trying to lead a medical opinion in to evidence without giving us adequate notice," she said. The judge looked at Joe. "What do say to that Mr. Ross?"

"I am not seeking an opinion from Dr. Adams," Joe replied. I am asking him about his treatment history, about what he saw and what he observed. I am asking him, from the perspective of a medical doctor, why the things he saw were of concern. And what he did as a result. Those are facts, not opinion. Ms Richards agreed to admit Dr. Adams' notes on that basis yesterday." Joe sat down.

"Ms. Richards, I agree with Mr. Ross," the judge said. Dr. Adams has training in medicine. That training is being brought in to play when he treats the plaintiff. What he observes is fact. Doctor Adams may answer the question." Doctor Adams cleared his throat. "Necrosis in the scaphoid occurs when the broken fragment does not get an adequate blood supply during healing, and the bone tissue dies……."

The family physician is of crucial importance in a personal injury lawsuit. Sometimes a doctor will be asked to form a medical opinion on hypothetical facts. Or, it may be better to ask another physician to form the opinion and ask the family doctor to testify only to the facts. The lawyer must assess the strengths and weaknesses of each witness and decide how best to proceed in each case. It is important that your lawyer understands personal injury law. At Horne Marr Zak, our practice is restricted to personal injury.