TABLE OF CONTENTS App.Page Excerpts from Reporter's Transcript of Proceedings of February 15, 1973: Testimony of Donald A. Kurtzman Cross Examination ---------------- - -- 1 Testimony of Dr. R. J. Bortnick Direct Examination... 2 Cross Examination... 3 Excerpts from Reporter's Transcript of Proceedings of February 16, 1973: Testimony of C. W. Neeley, Jr. Direct Examination... 4 Cross Exan1ination ------------ - -~- 7 Excerpts from Reporter's Transcript of Proceedings of February 20, 1973: Testimony of Sara Neeley Direct Examination... 9 Cross Examination... 10 Testimony of Dr. F. J. Pepper Direct Examination... 11 Cross Examination... 13
EXCERPTS FROM REPORTER'S TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS OF FEBRUARY 15, 1973 Testimony of Donald A. Kurtzman By Mr. Slenker: Cross Examination [m] Q Do you know as a matter of fact that he was offered his job back? A I have been told that. I don't know that for a fact. Q Who told you? A Mr. Kerr. Q Mr. Kerr personally? A Yes. Q And he said he offered Mr. Neeley the job, didn't he? Yes. Q That was in 1971, was it not? A [77] Q Did you talk with Mr. Kerr about that? A Mr. Kerr told me, he offered him his job back, period. A I don't know the date, sir. The only thing Q Mr. Kerr didn't tell you what Mr. Neeley did about it? A No, sir, other than he refused to come back to work, but you added other things that I can't testify to. [ 78] Q All right. So Mr. Kerr told you that Mr. Neeley refused to come back to work; you know that. A Yes. Q Did you know that as a matter of fact, shortly after the job was offered to Mr. Neeley, he did go to North Carolina? A Not directly, to what you are saying. I knew he [79] was in North Carolina and he had a job. I do not know whether he had it when he went there or what the job was.
By Mr. Cohen: App.2 Testimony of Dr. R. J. Bortnick Direct Examination [138] Q Would you tell us, please, whether you have had the opportunity to examine Clinton W. Neeley, Jr.? [139] A Yes, sir. I saw him January 30, 1973, in my office. Q At whose request did you see him? A I saw him at your request. Q And did you have any prior knowledge of Mr. Neeley? A Yes. Sometime prior to this, I had been contacted. I can't recall whether I talked to him directly on the phone or not-approximately at least a year ago that I was aware that he was having a neurological problem. But I was also a ware that he was seeing a very good qualified neurosurgeon in his area. He does not live in this area and I felt it would be just as convenient for him to be followed there rather than try to come and see me at that particular time. Q Who was the qualified neurosurgeon that he was seeing in his area? A Dr. Edgar Weaver in Roanoke. Q And at the time you examined Mr. Neeley on January 30, 1973, did you have the benefit of any of Dr. Weaver's findings? A Yes. I had copies of his consultations. [140] The Witness: He also stated at the time of his injury, he had apparently been unconscious for a short period of time. He stated that sitting at his desk to work caused [ 141] neck pain, headaches, pain in his right upper extremity-his right arm, that isand that this type of activity also caused him to have back and right leg pain, right lower extremity pain. [143] A No, sir. It just means that there has been no specific damage to the neuro structures, to the nerves or to the spinal chord or to the brain structures themselves. It does not mean in any way that the patient is perfectly healthy.
App. 3 Q Well, after you do your neurological examination and you have taken your history and the man has told you about these pains and the symptoms that he is having, what other methods are there for you to determine what is wrong with the man? A Well, you make your diagnosis, ninety percent of your diagnosis, in what the patient tells you, his pattern of symptoms. And you can do other studies. You can do myelograms; you can do further x-rays, and so forth. But this patient, in my opinion, has a cervical and lumbar strain which is in the soft tissues-not in the nerve tissues but in the soft tissues, and muscles and [ 144] ligaments of the low back. By Mr. Slenker: Cross Examination [185] Q What was his diagnosis? A On December 14, he said, "It's my impression that this patient has a muscular ligamentous injury involving the neck and low back. I do not feel he has any injury of a permanent nature. I feel his symptoms will subside with time. However, I will see him again in one month for reevaluation." Q Taking that December, 1970, diagnosis of D'r. Weaver, is that in any way inconsistent with your diagnosis? A No. It's quite consistent. Q Now, one month later, January 15, 1971, I notice that Dr. Weaver writes to you again. A Yes. Q And again, his neurological examination revealed no significant limitation of motion of the neck or his lumbar spine. Is that correct? [186] A Yes. Q And you would say that the neurological examination again was a normal neurological examination? A Yes, it was. [189] Q And Dr. Weaver found there wasn't any reason for him to treat him, and you found that there wasn't any [ 190] reason for you to treat him; right? A That's correct.
App.4 EXCERPTS FROM REPORTER'S TRANSCRIPf OF PROCEEDINGS OF FEBRUARY 16, 1973 Testimony of C. W. Neeley, Jr. By Mr. Cohen : Direct Examination [269] Q Now, Mr. Neeley, do you have personal knowledge, do you know the name of the doctor that treated you in the Alexandria Hospital emergency room? A Yes. Q Whatwasthat? A Dr.WilliamWeaver. Q It will come out later in the evidence.that you eventually went to see Dr. Weaver at another place, is that correct? A Yes. Q Where was that? A In Roanoke, Virginia. Q WasthatthesameDr.Weaver? A No,sir. [277] Q Now, Mr. Neeley, would you tell the Court and jury about your course of conduct and treatment and recovery the first few weeks after the accident of July 23rd, 1970? A Yes. Dr. Weaver had recommended that I see an [278] orthopaedic surgeon and my wife had made these arrangements the previous day and I saw Dr. Kuhnert. She took me over to Dr. Kuhnert's office on Saturday morning by prior arrangement and he treated me and returned me home and I continued under his care on a weekly period, or every other week or something like that for several months. Q Is Dr. Kuhnert any type of specialist? A Yes. He is an orthopaedic surgeon. [288] Q Now, Mr. Neeley, have you been able to go back to work for American Motor Inns since July the 23rd, 1970? [289] A No, I haven't. Q Did the company immediately stop paying you? A No, sir. I had accumulated sick leave of some six or eight months but due to the circumstances of my being off work I didn't qualify for that. But
App. 5 they very graciously paid me my full salary for approximately six or eight weeks. Q So how many weeks have you been without salary from the American Motor Inn, Mr. Neeley? A Approximately 126weeks. A Q That would be through today, February the 16th, 1973? Yes. Q And in the interim were you able to earn any other income from working? I'm not talking about any income you may have had from a savings account or any dividends or investments or anything like that-solely income that you were able to earn from working? A Yes. I was very desperate to put bread on the table some way and so I took some part time work, bookkeeping, payroll and so forth, for a construction company. Q What construction company was that? A T & L Construction Company in Abingdon, Virginia. Q Did you have any connection or interest with [290] that company whatever? A No, sir. Q And how much were you able to earn all told-you don't have to break it down by year, but all told since your injury in this accident, Mr. Neeley? How much were you able to earn from the T & L Construction Company? A This is the only income I had. I earned approximately $3500. [291] Q Do you have an investment in that inn? A I have an investment interest in Virginia, Carolina Inns. Q Tell us the extent of that investment. A Yes. It is five per cent. [292] Q And when did you make that investment, Mr. Neeley? A Probably in late 1967, early 1968. Q At least two to three years before you were involved in this automobile accident? A Yes. Q And are you an officer, director in that corporation? A I am both. I am vice president and treasurer and director. Yes,
,/ App.6 Q Do you receive any salary for that? A No, sir. Q Was it because of your connection with Virginia Carolina Inns that you were able to go down to Banner Elk and do this part-time work for T & L? A Yes. That was certainly instrumental in my getting this little bit of salary. [293] Q Now tell us, please, again the date approximately when you went to Banner Elk, North Carolina. A It was in late August of 1971. Q Well, let's back up a bit and chronologically-a[294] we're still back in Abingdon and you had experience which the Court and jury have already heard something about and we're going to have to get into that, too. So do you recall the time that you happened to be in the Veterans Administration Hospital in Abingdon, Virginia? A Yes. Q Would you tell the Court and jury what you recall of the day preceding that, if you have any recall? A No, sir, I don't. I don't even remember, you know, the circumstances of going up to the Veterans Administration Hospital and I don't remember anything for the first week and a half or two weeks after entering the hospital. Q You don't remember anything at the hospital for a couple of weeks? A No, sir. Q Do you remember who drove you there? A No, sir. Q Do you remember what you did in the several days before going in the hospital? A No. [304]. Q Did they offer you your job back? A No, sir. Q Nobody at American Motor Inns offered you your job back? [ 305] A Pardon? A Q Did anyone at American Motor Inns offer you your job back? I still consider myself employed by them. Q Well, I mean did they tell you come on back to work? A No, sir.
App.7 Q Now has anybody at American Motor Inns ever told you you can come back there and work at another job that pays you any~ thing at all, any job that doesn't require you to do a lot of driving during the year? [306] A One of my supervisors, Mr. Charles Deon, visited me at my home one time and I wanted to know if I could do, if they had some kind of work that I could do at home, that I would be willing to do that and certainly do anything; and I even contacted them on one occasion and offered just to work for no pay. Q You contacted them and offered to do that? A Yes. Q How did you contact them? A I contacted the comptroller and the director of personnel. A Q As a result of that contact did they give you any work to do? No, sir. By Mr. Slenker : Cross Examination [313] Q Mr. Neeley, you also told this jury that you got this cane the very first day that you were back home and you've used it ever since? A Not this cane, sir. Q Not that particular one, but a cane? A Yes. Q And I believe you told the members of this jury that you were walking with a cane when you went to the VA Hospital? A I don't know, sir. I didn't have the cane when I realized that I was there. Q When was that? A About a week or two after I was admitted. Q Who took you to the VA Hospital? A I don't know. The Court: You are asking for his personal knowledge? Mr. Slenker: Yes. By Mr. Slenker: Q You have no recollection of going there? [ 314] A.No, sir.
App.8 Q Have you seen the records from the Veterans Administration Hospital? A No, sir. Q Do you remember telling them at the hospital anything when you got there? A No, sir. Q About why you were there? A No, sir. Q Do you remember telling them about you going out and laying in the snow? A No. Q Do you know who did tell then1 that? A No, sir. Q D'o you have a recollection of going out and laying in the snow? A No, sir. [315] Q Your testimony is that you didn't tell them what was in that record? A I don't remember telling them. Q You don't know? A No, sir. [316] Q Do you deny, Mr. Neeley, that you were offered your job back at American Motor Inns in September or October of 1971? A Yes. Q And you refused it? A Yes. Q You say it didn't happen? A No, sir. [334] Q All right. Now in addition to the doctors that you told Mr. Cohen about, you didn't mention Dr. Campbell. Did you see him? A You mean when I testified? Q Yes, today. A No, I don't think so. Q You didn't mention him? A No, sir. Q And you didn't mention Dr. Rivers? A No, sir. Q Or Dr. Wood? A No, sir. [337] Q All right. Now the bill there for Dr. Kuhnert shows that you saw him how many times? A Nine times.
App.9 Q What is the last date? A 4/6/71. Q April 6th, 1971? A Yes. Q Do you know how many times you saw Dr. Shaffer? A Yes. I saw Dr. Shaffer twice. Q How many times did you see Dr. Weaver? [338] A I saw Dr. Weaver twice. [342] Q How long was it after the accident that you had your nervous breakdown, if you know? A Probably about eight months after the accident. Q Eight months? A Uh-huh. Q We know, Mr. Neeley, that you went over to the VA Hospital on the 16th of February. A If that is the date, sir. Q That is what the records show. A Well, if that's what the letter says. Q That is what it says. Now tell us what was the last day approximately which you remember anything before that? A Before going to the hospital? I can't say [ 343] exactly whether a day or three days or anything like that, no. Q D'o I understand from your testimony on direct examination that you were in this hospital for some time and you were cranked from one ward to another? A Yes. Q Do you know how long you were there before you were changed? A Not exactly. Probably two weeks or so. EXCERPTS FROM REPORTER'S TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS OF FEBRUARY 20, 1973 Testimony of Sara Neeley Direct Examination By Mr. Cohen: Q All right. You got to the hospital then. Did you have to sign any papers or
App.lO was he able to voluntarily sign? A including the ones for his belongings. No, he signed all the papers Q How long did you stay in the admitting room with him? A I would guess about maybe 10 minutes while they asked all these questions. Q Did you participate in answering the questions too? Some of them I did. Q Did you go into any detail about what he had been doing for the past four or five days? A Not then, no. Q Not then? Tell the Court and jury please what happened in the admitting room, if anything of any significance. [ 427] A Well, after they'd taken Bill back to see the Officer of the Day, or whatever they call the doctor, he came to talk to me. We went back to the office. I believe that is when he signed the papers for his money and belongings. I started to reach over and tell him I forgot his bedroom shoes. When I did, he pulled back and said, "Don't touch me." No. Q Had Mr. Neeley ever done anything like that before? A Q Was David there? A He was outside the room when that happened. Q Did you and David say good-by to Mr. Neeley before you left? A Well, we tried to. Q Tell us what happened when you tried to say good-by to him. A He walked away and put his hands over his ears. He didn't want to--evidently he didn't want to hear us or see us. Q Did you then drive back to Abingdon? A Yes. Cross Examination By Mr. Slenker: [ 447] Q Who was the psychiatrist that you saw that Monday? A n octor Haas. Q Where is he located? A In Bristol. A
App. 11 Q And he talked to your husband for what period of time? Oh, not more than five minutes. Q And he talked to you thereafter? A Yes. Q In the presence of your husband? A Yes. Q For what period of time? A I guess about 15 minutes. Q And then you left and went home? [ 448] A Yes. [455] Q Did you tell the Salem hospital about him being hospitalized for pain in the arms and chest? A No. [456] Q It is your testimony that you did not tell them at the hospital that five months ago the patient had an episode of aching in both arms and chest pain and was hospitalized. But the investigation was negative. It is your testimony you did not tell them that? A No, I didn't. Q Are you able to tell us who did tell them that? A No. Testimony of Dr. F. J. Pepper By Mr. Cohen: Direct Examination [471] Q And would you tell us, please, when you first saw him? A The first time I saw him was January 29 of this year. Q What background did you have before he came to see you if any? A Well, I had spoken with you about the case on two previous occasions. And I had read a good deal of his clinical record. Q What clinical record did you have available to you, Doctor, when you first saw him on January 29? A Well, now, I had a record of his hospitalization at the Salem Veterans Administration Hospital. This was a [ 427] hospitalization that occurred in 1971 from February 16 to March 26, 1971. Q What else did you have available to you? A Now, I had a -I had a deposition here from Mr. Neeley's family doctor, Dr. James H. Bowden, Jr. A
App. 12 Q Well, I don't believe you had that on the 29th, Dr. Pepper. A Oh, perhaps not. And I had-i had read the Interrogatories and Answers of the plaintiff, my patient-let's see a date here-well, setting forth the action- Mr. Slenker: (Interposing) Objection, if Your Honor please, as to what they set forth. Mr. Cohen: Well, that's all right. The Court: Withdraw the question? Mr. Cohen: Yes. By Mr. Cohen: Q Doctor, did you have any other medical reports? A Let me check just to be sure here. I seem to recall that there were some. Let me see. I believe, Mr. Cohen, that we had seen some possibly one or two other reports, but I don't readily locate them here. If you will refresh my n1emory I may be able to speak to them. [ 473] Q What was the major n1edical report with respect to his psychiatric background that you had? A Well, there was the record of his hospitalization at the Salem VA Hospital for an acute depression. [478] In his behavior, he was cooperative. He was oriented to time, place and person although he seemed to have only a vague idea as to why he was here. That gets into the fourth aspect of orientation which is situation. Does he know what it's all about? Does he know why he is here and why this interview is taking place? Well, he was here because his lawyer had sent him. And he knew I was a doctor and 111aybe it could help him somehow. He wasn't ess.entially coming to me in order to- [482] Q Doctor, don't let me cut you short. Was there anything else about the first interview that you can tell us in terms of your psychiatric examination and evaluation from that first visit? A Some things that are not of great psychiatric importance. He did acknowledge these
--- App. 13 -these purple letters that he's written to a number of people. And he stated that he has-he's always written such letters. And I- Q (Interposing) Up to this point in the trial, there has been no testimony about this. And I think the jury is completely in the dark about them. Would you tell the jury, please, what these purple letters are all about? A Oh, Mr. Cohen had saved a very thick, about this thick (indicating) folder of copies of-duplicate copies of correspondence of Mr. Neeley's, letters that he has written to various people, to insurance companies, to Government officials, radio stations, newspapers, and so on and so forth. And this was the output of just the past couple of years, a very thick file in which he's complaining, complaining bitterly and incessantly at the poor treatment [ 483] he feels he is getting from people. Nobody is coming forth at all or only very, very reluctantly to provide any of the things that he feels that he is entitled to. So, this got dubbed the file of purple letters. And he acknowledged, yes, he has \vritten such letters. And I said, "Well, did you use to write such letters before your accident?" And he said, "Oh, yes," he wrote them in the past. I will have something more to say on this later. But as far as this interview went, that was as far as that went. [487] Q When was the next time you saw him? A The next time I saw him was February 13, 1973. [493] He also indicated that he had lost control of his vehicle on approxitnately three occasions. He had gone off the road once, and it had required a wrecker for him to be pulled out. By Mr. Slenker: Cross Examination [536] Q Now, have you been aware of any cases at all where a civil case of this type of a patient when it was over that the symptoms went away? A Went away? Q Yes, that they got better. A I didn't hear the last phrase.
App.l4 Q That they got better after the apprehension of the lawsuit, the prospective gain of tax free dollars once they found out whether they were or they weren't, the symptoms improved? A Yes, sir. Q Any of that in this case? A Let me make a careful dis tinction. Q No. Just answer my question, Doctor. [537] Mr. Cohen: If Your Honor please, he has a right to answer the question in the way he feels best explains the- The Court: (Interposing) Not a question such as this. I think he can answer the question and you may have him on redirect. Mr. Cohen: All right. The Witness : You say is there any of that in this case. By Mr. Slenker: Q Yes. A By that I assume you mean malingering, deliberate misrepresentation. Q No, that is not what I mean, Doctor, not malingering. A neurosis predicated on compensation and on this stressful situation right here where he may get tax free dollars. A And the question is? Q Is that part of his disease? A Is that keeping him sick, in other words? A Q Yes. A I believe it is. Q This lawsuit here is helping to keep him ill, [ 538] isn't it? In a sense, it is. Q Right.