An orthopedic expert claimed that Johnny Depp’s wounds when his finger was severed in a 2015 brawl with Amber Heard are ‘not steady’ with the actor’s allegations that it was severed by an alcohol bottle thrown at him.
Dr. Richard Moore, an orthopedic surgeon located in North Carolina who expertise in hand surgery, testified as the first witness in Depp’s defamation trial against Heard on Monday. He described himself as a hand specialist as it had a “very attractive, gorgeous anatomy.”
Dr. Moore claimed he has operated on finger wounds like Depp’s during his fight with Heard in Australia ‘hundreds of times’ throughout his 25-year profession.
Depp’s fingers were severed after a drunken and drug-fueled confrontation in March 2015. Depp alleges Heard did it by throwing a bottle of vodka at him. He allegedly crushed it off with a phone, according to her. Witnesses said in court that Depp informed them he chopped it off himself, which he confessed in messages.
Dr. Moore, who testified as a specialist for Heard’s defense team, said the theory that Depp’s finger was chopped off with a bottle was ‘not compatible’ with the facts.
He added that it is inconsistent with what they see in the documented damage pattern or clinical pictures.
Depp glanced up and paid attentively in court, shaking his head in disbelief.
According to Dr. Moore, there were no wounds to the dorsum of the finger, which refers to the rear of the hand.
Dr. Moore concurred when Heard’s lawyer Benjamin Rottenborn questioned whether the dorsum was the back of the hand, “like the Dorsal fin of a shark,” and Depp smiled.
Dr. Moore stated that the damage seems not to have occurred when Depp’s hand was resting flat on the bar, as he asserted.
He explained that in that posture, if the bottle had impacted the finger, it would have struck on the nail, and the nail was not harmed. That does not fit with the pattern of harm.
The jury was shown graphic images of Depp’s wounded finger and X-rays that indicated several small shards of bone in the tip and a ‘comminuted fracture’ associated with a crush injury, according to Dr. Moore.
Johnny Depp's Finger Injury Wasn't Caused By Vodka Bottle: Orthopedic SurgeonAn orthopedic surgeon called by Amber Heard's team testified on Monday that Johnny Depp's finger injury did not occur from Amber Heard throwing a vodka bottle at him.
Posted by Law & Crime on Monday, May 23, 2022
Crush damage can happen when a finger becomes trapped in a sliding door or an automobile door.
Dr. Moore stated that the photographs revealed no damage to the fingernail and that if the bottle had struck it, there would be damage.
‘Everybody who has caught their finger in a vehicle door usually has bleeding beneath the skin, which causes this hematoma,’ he explained.
When asked if Depp’s account of events “lines up” with the photographic proof, Dr. Moore responded no.
Dr. Moore stated that the lack of glass wounds on Depp’s hand meant that the bottle did not ‘blow up’ after striking his hand.
According to him, the medical records he studied ‘did not reflect the existence of any glass shards and no other connected wounds on the hand.’
Dr. Moore remarked that this incision does not appear to be an acute glass laceration.
During cross questioning, Depp’s lawyer Camille Vasquez ripped at Dr. Moore. It was her first interrogation of a witness since her violent cross examination of Amber Heard, which catapulted her to legal fame.
Vasquez wondered whether it was ‘not fully correct’ that Depp’s hand was resting flat on the bar, as Dr. Moore had just stated.
According to Dr. Moore, Depp’s hand was ‘resting on the edge’ of the bar.
Vasquez responded by saying that Depp had indicated his fingers were ‘hanging over the bar?’
Dr. Moore attempted to respond, but Vasquez interrupted him and said, ‘That’s not her question, Dr. Moore.’
‘Is it true Mr. Depp stated his fingers were dangling over the bar?’ she said. Dr. Moore agreed.
‘You can’t establish what object caused the damage to his finger,’ Vasquez questioned Dr. Moore.
He can’t figure out which thing caused it,’ Dr. Moore added. He can confidently state that the bottle’s reported process was inconsistent…’
Vasquez interjected saying that she gets that. However her query is extremely specific, she says, repeating the question.
Dr. Moore added that it’s a little bit more of a non-specific answer. He is unable to identify the particular item, but it’s improbable that it was suffered in the manner mentioned.
Vasquez probed Dr. Moore constantly, and he conceded that he couldn’t rule out the possibility that Depp’s finger was injured by a vehicle door.
According to Dr. Moore, the ‘classical cause’ of this type of damage would be doors.
Vasquez added that whether Dr. Moore could tell for sure what caused Mr. Depp’s finger damage.
Vasquez interrupted Dr. Moore’s response.
She continued, Dr. Moore, she understood, and went on by asking him some questions. It’s impossible to determine for certain what caused Mr. Depp’s finger damage. ‘Do you agree or disagree?’
‘No,’ responded Dr. Moore.
Vasquez showed the jury images of the bar area of the apartment Depp and Heard leased in Australia, where the incident took place.
They displayed a shattered vodka bottle and a bloodied tissue with blood drips on it.
Dr. Moore said that he had not examined the photographs in his study.
Benjamin Rottenborn, Heard’s lawyer, read over portions of Dr. Moore’s evidence and said that Vasquez ‘shut you off’ before the jury could hear the remainder.
Vasquez interjected that she does not think that’s in the transcript.
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