Rebuttal - Jay Poelman
14 JAY POHLMAN,
15 CALLED BY THE PLAINTIFF, HAVING BEEN DULY
16 SWORN, WAS EXAMINED AND TESTIFIED AS FOLLOWS:
17 DIRECT EXAMINATION
18 BY MR. MAJOR:
19 Q. WOULD YOU PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME FOR THE RECORD.
20 A. JAY E. POHLMAN.
21 Q. AND, MR. POHLMAN, WHAT IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP TO BARBARA
22 POHLMAN?
23 A. SHE'S MY WIFE. I'M HER HUSBAND.
24 Q. AND WHAT IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP TO ELLEN ANDERSON?
25 A. I'M ELLEN ANDERSON'S SON-IN-LAW.
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1 Q. AND, MR. POHLMAN, I WOULD LIKE TO CALL YOUR ATTENTION TO
2 THE 29TH DAY OF FEBRUARY 1995 AND ASK TO YOU RECALL
3 ACCOMPANYING YOUR MOTHER, OR YOUR MOTHER-IN-LAW, TO THE
4 HOSPITAL AT DAVIS, DAVIS NORTH?
5 A. YES.
6 Q. WHO WAS WITH YOU AT THAT TIME?
7 A. JUST MY WIFE AND MY MOTHER-IN-LAW CAME DOWN IN OUR
8 VEHICLE.
9 Q. I REFER YOU TO DECEMBER 29 OF 1995?
10 A. YES, SIR.
11 Q. THAT'S THE DATE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT?
12 A. YES.
13 Q. MAKE SURE I GET THE -- READING FROM MY NOTES, I MAY HAVE
14 PICKED UP THE WRONG DAY. ON 29 OF DECEMBER 1995 YOU
15 ACCOMPANIED YOUR WIFE AND YOUR MOTHER-IN-LAW TO DAVIS NORTH
16 HOSPITAL. WHAT DID YOU DO WHEN YOU FIRST ARRIVED AT THE
17 HOSPITAL?
18 A. WE GOT HER TO A WHEELCHAIR AND GOT HER INSIDE AND TOLD
19 HER -- TOLD THE ADMITTING PEOPLE THAT WE HAD BROUGHT HER
20 DOWN. SHE HAD ALREADY BEEN CLEARED FOR ADMITTANCE, WE HAD
21 UNDERSTOOD, TO THAT PSYCHIATRIC -- GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRIC
22 UNIT.
23 Q. APPROXIMATELY WHAT TIME OF DAY WAS THIS?
24 A. ABOUT FOUR O'CLOCK, AS I RECALL.
25 Q. AND WHEN YOU MET WITH THE ADMISSIONS PEOPLE WHERE WAS
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1 THAT LOCATED AT INSIDE OF THE HOSPITAL?
2 A. JUST ON THE MAIN LEVEL TO FIRST BE ADMITTED.
3 Q. AND WHAT DID YOU DO THERE?
4 A. FILLED OUT A LOT OF PAPERWORK AND ANSWERED SOME
5 QUESTIONS. I THINK THAT'S WHERE SHE WAS WEIGHED AND TOOK
6 HER HEIGHT. I DON'T KNOW WHETHER THEY TOOK HER HEIGHT, BUT
7 I THINK SHE WAS WEIGHED.
8 Q. AND DO YOU KNOW WHO WOULD HAVE DONE THAT, WHO WOULD HAVE
9 DONE THE WEIGHING?
10 A. NO, I DON'T KNOW WHO THAT WAS.
11 Q. DID THEY TAKE ANY OTHER VITAL SIGNS AT THE TIME?
12 A. IT'S POSSIBLE. I DON'T RECALL THAT.
13 Q. AND WHO FILLED OUT THE MAJORITY OF THE PAPERWORK?
14 A. I BELIEVE THEY DID THROUGH QUESTIONING.
15 Q. WAS THAT INVOLVING YOUR INSURANCE, MEDICAID AND
16 MEDICARE, ALL THAT TYPE OF STUFF?
17 A. THAT SORT OF THING. AND THEN WHEN WE GOT INTO THE UNIT
18 IT WAS VERBAL QUESTIONING AS TO HER BEHAVIOR.
19 Q. AND APPROXIMATELY HOW LONG DID THAT TAKE YOU TO GET ALL
20 OF THAT PAPERWORK DONE AT THE ADMISSIONS OFFICE?
21 A. WELL, AT THE ADMISSIONS OFFICE IT MAY HAVE BEEN MOST OF
22 AN HOUR. AND THEN WE WENT UPSTAIRS AND CONTINUED FOR A
23 LENGTHY PERIOD OF TIME.
24 Q. WAS MISS ANDERSON WITH YOU DURING THIS PERIOD OF TIME
25 WHEN YOU WERE DOING THE ADMISSION?
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1 A. YES.
2 Q. DID SHE EVER LEAVE YOUR SIDE OR GET OUT OF YOUR
3 PRESENCE?
4 A. NO.
5 Q. EVEN WHEN THEY WEIGHED HER?
6 A. NO.
7 Q. AND WHAT HAPPENED WHEN YOU GOT UP ONTO THE ACTUAL UNIT?
8 A. THEN THEY PROCEEDED TO ASK QUESTIONS AS TO HER BEHAVIOR,
9 WHAT WAS HER MEDICAL BACKGROUND, WHY WAS SHE THERE. AND WE
10 GAVE THEM THE FOLDER OF THE RECORDS THAT WE HAD BROUGHT DOWN
11 FROM THE PIONEER CARE CENTER IN BRIGHAM CITY.
12 Q. AND HOW LONG DID THIS TAKE?
13 A. WELL, IT WAS PROBABLY ANOTHER COUPLE OF HOURS. PEOPLE
14 WERE IN AND OUT. AND THEY MAY HAVE BEEN -- TOOK HER BLOOD
15 PRESSURE. I DON'T RECALL THAT SPECIFICALLY. IT WAS MOSTLY
16 THE BACKGROUND HISTORY, IF I RECALL.
17 Q. WERE YOU PRESENT WITH MISS ANDERSON DURING THIS WHOLE
18 PERIOD OF TIME?
19 A. YES. DURING THE TIME I WAS HOLDING HER HAND.
20 Q. WAS THERE ANY TIME WHEN YOU WEREN'T IN HER PRESENCE?
21 A. NO.
22 Q. APPROXIMATELY WHAT TIME DID YOU LEAVE?
23 A. IT WAS SOMETIME AFTER SEVEN O'CLOCK AND I THINK CLOSER
24 TO 7:30.
25 Q. DURING THIS PERIOD OF TIME DID YOU EVER SEE DR. WEITZEL?
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1 A. NO, SIR.
2 Q. DID YOU EVER TALK TO DR. WEITZEL DURING THIS PERIOD OF
3 TIME?
4 A. NO, SIR.
5 Q. WAS THERE ANY PERIOD OF TIME WHEN YOU WERE NOT WITH YOUR
6 MOTHER WHEN DR. WEITZEL COULD HAVE BEEN WITH YOUR MOTHER?
7 A. NO, SIR.
8 Q. WHAT WAS YOUR MOTHER'S CONDITION FROM THE TIME THAT YOU
9 ARRIVED AT THE HOSPITAL UNTIL THE TIME YOU LEFT?
10 A. WELL, I WAS PLEASANTLY SURPRISED. EVEN IN THOSE STRANGE
11 SURROUNDINGS SHE WAS MORE PASSIVE AND ACCEPTING OF A STRANGE
12 SITUATION THAN I EXPECTED HER TO BE. SHE WAS -- SHE WAS
13 QUIET, CALM AND SHE WASN'T AGITATED OR INDICATING ANY
14 ANXIETY WITH REGARD TO HER -- HER SITUATION THERE. AGAIN, I
15 WAS PLEASANTLY SURPRISED.
16 Q. WASN'T SCREAMING OR YELLING OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT?
17 A. NO, SIR.
18 Q. DID YOU DESCRIBE TO THE NURSE WHAT HER CONDITION HAD
19 BEEN IN THE PAST?
20 A. YES, WE DID.
21 Q. AND DID THAT INVOLVE TALKING ABOUT MOANING AND GROANING
22 AND --
23 A. YES, AND CALLING OUT FOR MY WIFE. SHE'D CALL OUT
24 BARBARA, BARBARA IF BARBARA WAS NOT PRESENT WITH HER. I
25 COULDN'T SEEM TO SATISFY HER TYPICALLY.
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1 Q. DURING THIS PERIOD OF TIME DID YOU EVER SEE DR. WEITZEL?
2 A. ON THE 29TH?
3 MR. STIRBA: ALREADY ASKED AND ANSWERED.
4 THE COURT: SUSTAINED.
5 Q. (BY MR. MAJOR) YOUR QUESTION WAS ON THE 29TH. DID YOU
6 SEE HIM AFTER THAT?
7 A. YES.
8 Q. WHEN WAS THAT?
9 A. THE NEXT MORNING.
10 Q. WAS THAT THE FIRST TIME YOU HAD EVER SEEN HIM?
11 A. YES, SIR.
12 MR. MAJOR: WE HAVE NO FURTHER QUESTIONS, YOUR
13 HONOR.
14 THE COURT: MR. STIRBA.
15 CROSS-EXAMINATION
16 BY MR. STIRBA:
17 Q. MR. POHLMAN, DO YOU RECALL AT THE TIME OF ADMISSION THAT
18 YOUR MOTHER-IN-LAW WAS PUT UNDER SOME KIND OF SPECIAL
19 OBSERVATION UP ON THE UNIT?
20 A. NO, SIR.
21 Q. AND YOU -- YOU REMEMBER THERE WERE SOME NURSES WHO ASKED
22 YOU SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT HER CONDITION; IS THAT RIGHT?
23 A. YES.
24 Q. WAS THAT UP ON THE UNIT OR DOWN IN THE ADMISSIONS
25 OFFICE?
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1 A. WELL, I THINK BOTH PLACES. BUT MOST OF THE QUESTIONING
2 WAS UPSTAIRS ON THE UNIT.
3 Q. AND DO YOU RECALL IF THERE WAS SOME KIND OF FORM THAT
4 WAS BEING FILLED OUT WHILE THE NURSES WERE ASKING QUESTIONS?
5 A. YES, I DO.
6 Q. AND IT'S TRUE, IS IT NOT, THAT AT THE TIME OF THAT
7 INTERVIEW THAT YOUR MOTHER WAS, YOUR MOTHER-IN-LAW, RATHER,
8 WAS AGITATED?
9 A. NO, SIR.
10 Q. AND SO YOU DIDN'T SENSE ANY AGITATION DURING THE WHOLE
11 TIME YOU WERE THERE; IS THAT RIGHT?
12 A. NO, SIR.
13 Q. DO YOU RECALL THAT SHE WAS IN THE ROOM, IN THE PATIENT
14 ROOM, AT 4:30 IN THE AFTERNOON?
15 A. NO.
16 Q. THAT DOESN'T SQUARE WITH YOUR RECOLLECTION?
17 A. NOT AT 4:30. I THINK THAT WAS A LITTLE LATER. WE WERE
18 IN THE PATIENT ROOM LATER.
19 Q. AND HOW MUCH LATER DO YOU RECALL THAT SHE WAS ACTUALLY
20 IN THE ROOM ON THE UNIT?
21 A. I WOULD SAY FIVE O'CLOCK OR SO.
22 Q. SO SHE WAS IN THE ROOM, DO YOU THINK, AT LEAST BY FIVE
23 O'CLOCK?
24 A. WELL, THAT'S MY GUESS. YOU KNOW, IT'S FOUR-AND-A-HALF
25 YEARS AGO.
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1 Q. AND I APPRECIATE THAT. WHEN SHE GOT IN THE ROOM, I
2 ASSUME SOME FOLKS CAME IN TO TEND TO HER; IS THAT RIGHT?
3 A. WELL, THEY GOT HER ONTO THE BED. SHE WAS ON THE BED
4 MOST, IF NOT ALL, OF THE TIME ONCE THEY GOT HER OUT OF THE
5 WHEELCHAIR. SHE WAS LYING THERE AND AGAIN HOLDING MY HAND
6 AS MY WIFE WAS RESPONDING TO THE QUESTIONING.
7 Q. AND THERE WAS MORE THAN ONE NURSE THAT WAS ASSISTING AT
8 THAT TIME?
9 A. I REMEMBER ONE INDIVIDUAL DOING MOST OF THE QUESTIONING
10 WITH A CLIPBOARD AND CHECKING BOXES OR WRITING DOWN THE
11 RESPONSES.
12 Q. AND DO YOU RECALL SOME OTHER FOLKS COMING DOWN THE
13 HALLWAY AND COMING INTO THE ROOM?
14 A. WELL, THAT'S POSSIBLE. THERE WAS A PATIENT IN THE OTHER
15 BED.
16 Q. OKAY. SO THAT'S POSSIBLE IN TERMS OF SOME OTHER PEOPLE
17 THAT CAME IN THE ROOM; IS THAT RIGHT?
18 A. YES, SIR.
19 Q. AND IT'S TRUE, IS IT NOT, THAT AS OF THAT POINT, THAT IS
20 THE 29TH, YOU HAD NEVER MET DR. WEITZEL BEFORE?
21 A. NO, SIR.
22 Q. AND THE ONLY REASON WHY YOU KNOW THAT YOU TALKED TO DR.
23 WEITZEL ON THE 30TH, THE NEXT DAY, IS I PRESUME HE
24 INTRODUCED HIMSELF TO YOU?
25 A. THAT'S CORRECT.
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1 Q. AND HE SAID HI, I'M DR. WEITZEL?
2 A. RIGHT.
3 Q. AND THEN YOU HAD A CONVERSATION?
4 A. RIGHT.
5 Q. THAT'S ALL I HAVE.
6 THE COURT: ANYTHING FURTHER?
7 MR. MAJOR: NOTHING FURTHER, YOUR HONOR.
8 THE COURT: MAY THIS WITNESS BE EXCUSED?
9 MR. MAJOR: HE MAY.