Opinion ID: 781796
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Civil Case

Text: 2 In December 1994, the car McKenna was driving was hit by a USPS mail truck. Her car sustained $63.55 in damages; the mail truck had no damage. In 1997, McKenna sued the government, alleging physical injuries and seeking $1,000,000 in damages. The government, through AUSA Emily Kingston, first deposed McKenna in July 1998. In that deposition, Kingston, after stating that we've already talked about the February '94 accident (McKenna had already advised the government that she had been in another accident in February 1994), 1 asked whether McKenna had ever had any kinds of injuries to her spine or neck. McKenna answered only that her spine had fused when her son was born but had since recovered. 3 In September 1998, Dr. Victor Prieto, an orthopedic surgeon retained by the government, examined McKenna and asked about her medical history. She told him about the February 1994 accident and a February 1997 slip-and-fall accident that resulted in a broken ankle; McKenna apparently mentioned no other accidents to Dr. Prieto. In October 1998, after having obtained a release from McKenna in August 1998, the government subpoenaed her medical records from her chiropractor, Dr. Biase, and learned that McKenna had suffered spine and neck injuries in a November 1994 car accident. 2 4 In April 1999, McKenna submitted corrections to her July 1998 deposition, explaining, inter alia, that the court reporter had experienced equipment problems during the first fifteen minutes of the deposition, which had affected [s]ections of the transcript up through p. 11, and that she had in fact listed the November 1994 accident in that deposition. Kingston again deposed McKenna in July 1999, and asked about McKenna's claim that the court reporter's equipment had malfunctioned during the first deposition. McKenna reiterated that she had told Kingston about each of her three car accidents as the reporter was setting up and that just as Kingston said they would go into each of those accidents the reporter indicated there were machine problems and left the room. 5 McKenna's civil case then proceeded to trial before a magistrate judge. During cross-examination, the government asked McKenna: you didn't tell us about [the November 1994] accident, did you, during discovery? McKenna answered, I believe I did, explaining that she thought she had revealed that accident: (1) when she agreed to release her medical records to the government; (2) during the early part of the July 1998 deposition while the court reporter's equipment was experiencing problems; and (3) and during her examination with Dr. Prieto. In October 1999, the magistrate issued written findings of fact and conclusions of law and dismissed the complaint.