The Orthopedic Surgeon Who Corrected the Spinal Level
At a deposition in a Fayette Circuit Court auto-accident case, an orthopedic surgeon testifies for 2 hours. He uses 'L4-L5 microdiscectomy,' 'foraminotomy,' 'acetaminophen-hydrocodone,' 'EMG/NCS,' and 'cervical radiculopathy.' He says, 'I think it was C6-7; no, wait, C5-6.' Later he says, 'I can't recall the exact percentage-somewhere around 30 percent.' Opposing counsel objects to the form of a question that asks the doctor to narrate everything he did in the surgery, and asks you to summarize that answer in the transcript. The doctor also refers to a drug as 'the little white pill' and then gives the generic name. You must produce a readable, verbatim transcript for summary judgment briefing.
1. How should you spell and format the medical terms and the doctor's self-correction?
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Use standard medical spellings: 'L4-L5 microdiscectomy,' 'foraminotomy,' 'acetaminophen-hydrocodone,' 'EMG/NCS,' and 'cervical radiculopathy.' Keep the spinal levels in the form the doctor used, with a hyphen between the vertebrae, and do not capitalize ordinary medical terms. For the self-correction, transcribe both versions and the correction: 'I think it was C6-7; no, wait, C5-6.' Do not silently change the first level to the second; the fact that the doctor corrected himself may matter on cross-examination or in a summary judgment argument about which level was operated on. If the doctor later gives a generic drug name after calling it 'the little white pill,' transcribe both references exactly, and use the generic spelling the doctor supplies. You may verify spelling in a medical dictionary, but do not substitute a different drug or term. If a term is genuinely unintelligible, mark it and ask the doctor to spell it on the record rather than guessing.
2. The objection to 'narrate everything' and the request to 'summarize that answer'-how do you respond?
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Record the objection and the question exactly as spoken. Do not summarize the answer. The court reporter's duty is verbatim transcription, and a summary would change the evidence. If the witness is allowed to narrate, transcribe the narration in full, using paragraph breaks for readability but not omitting content. If opposing counsel objects to form, note the objection and any ruling; you do not rule on it. If counsel asks you to summarize, say on the record or off the record that you cannot summarize testimony and will transcribe it verbatim. If the narration is long and rambling, you may use punctuation and paragraphing to make it readable, but you may not add words or reorder ideas. If the witness is instructed not to answer, record the instruction and any answer already given. The transcript should let a reader see the objection, the question, and the answer, not your condensation.
3. How should you punctuate and format the answer about '30 percent' and the list of surgical steps?
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Use figures for the percentage and the standard word 'percent,' as in 'somewhere around 30 percent,' unless the court's style guide requires a symbol. Keep the doctor's hedging language: 'I can't recall the exact percentage-somewhere around 30 percent.' Do not turn it into a definitive '30 percent.' For a list of surgical steps, use a semicolon or a dash only where the speaker's pauses support it; do not create a bulleted list that implies an order the witness did not give. If the witness enumerates, you may break the answer into paragraphs for readability, but preserve the words. Use commas for introductory phrases and quotation marks only for quoted speech. Avoid adding '[sic]' to speech; it is generally unnecessary and can look editorial. If a term is unclear, use '[unintelligible]' rather than a guess. The goal is a readable transcript that a judge can rely on without wondering whether the reporter cleaned up the testimony.