With billions of dollars in damages allegedly at stake, trial proceedings resumed this week in Kirkland v. RJ Reynolds, with the cross examination of defense expert witness Dr. Michael Bertino by Maria Sperando of the Willie Gary Law Firm.
Ms. Sperando challenged Dr. Bertino, a clinical professor of otolaryngology, on a change in his opinion of the possible cause for plaintiff Leroy Kirkland's cancer, based on defense reports submitted to the court in December of last year and then again last month. The December opinion, in addition to an opinion from 2008 also prepared by Dr. Bertino for R.J. Reynolds, stated that there was no determinative cause for Mr. Kirkland's cancer, and that past tobacco use was just one of many potential risk factors. However in January of 2011, Dr. Bertino's amended report stated that due to the location of Mr. Kirkland's cancer, past alcohol use was the most likely cause.
Attorney Sperando claimed that between December of 2010 and January of 2011 Dr. Bertino gained no new factual information that would support his change of position. According to Ms. Sperando, prior access to Mr. Kirkland's medical records and deposition testimony gave Dr. Bertino the same information about the location of his cancer that had twice proved inadequate to determine if any specific risk factor played a causal role.
"You knew the location of Mr. Kirkland's cancer," Ms. Sperando stated. "In fact, you knew the location of Mr. Kirkland's cancer before you submitted the December '08 report because you already had the pathology report."
Although both sides have hired expert witnesses to testify on their behalf, prominent trial attorney Willie Gary and his co-counsel have repeatedly challenged the credibility of witnesses retained by the tobacco companies over the course of the trial. Mr. Gary's firm is seeking over $10 billion in potential damages for Mr. Kirkland, who started smoking cigarettes as a child while working in an R.J. Reynolds warehouse. $10B is the largest award sought by a plaintiff since the individual Engle progeny tobacco trials began in 2009.
CVN is webcasting Kirkland v. RJ Reynolds live.
