Preview
FILED: RICHMOND COUNTY CLERK 03/23/2015 04:19 PM INDEX NO. 150116/2012
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 196 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/23/2015
In The Matter Of:
ROBERT VALENTI
v.
JOHN J. GADOMSKI, M.D., et al.
___________________________________________________
JOHN J. GADOMSKI, M.D. - Vol. 1
June 21, 2013
__________________________________________
JOHN J. GADOMSKI, M.D. - 6/21/2013
SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
COUNTY OF RICHMOND
------------------------------------------X
ROBERT VALENTI,
Plaintiff,
-against-
JOHN J. GADOMSKI, M.D., SHIMON OAMI, M.D.,
LABORATORY CORPORATION OF AMERICA HOLDINGS,
LABORATORY CORPORATION OF AMERICA, PATRICIA
C. McCORMACK, M.D. and "JANE DOE," P.A.,
intended to represent the female Physician
Assistant in the office of Dr. McCormack
who was involved in the care and treatment
of plaintiff, but whose name is not yet
known,
Defendants.
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1000 South Avenue
Staten Island, New York
June 21, 2013
10:33 A.M.
EXAMINATION BEFORE TRIAL
EXAMINATION BEFORE TRIAL of JOHN J. GADOMSKI, M.D., a
Defendant herein, taken by Plaintiff, pursuant to Order, and
stipulations of adjournment.
-oo0oo-
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JOHN J. GADOMSKI, M.D. - 6/21/2013
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2 A P P E A R A N C E S:
3
4 THE LAW FIRM OF RAVI BATRA, P.C.
Attorneys for Plaintiff
5 142 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY 10016
6
BY: TODD SHERMAN, ESQ.
7
8
AMABILE & ERMAN, P.C.
9 Attorneys for Defendants John J. Gadomski, M.D.
and Patricia C. McCormack, M.D.
10 1000 South Avenue
Staten Island, NY 10314
11
BY: SHARI STEINFELD, ESQ.
12
13
KELLER, O'REILLY & WATSON, P.C.
14 Attorneys for Defendant Shimon Oami, M.D.
242 Crossways Park West
15 Woodbury, NY 11797
16 BY: ERIN DEACY, ESQ.
FILE # 053-021
17
18 LEWIS RICE FINGERSH L.C.
Attorneys for Defendants Laboratory Corporation
19 of America Holdings and Laboratory Corporation of
America
20 600 Washington Avenue
St. Louis, MO 63101
21
BY: THOMAS L. CARADONNA, ESQ.
22
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S T I P U L A T I O N S
2
3 IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED AND AGREED by
4 and between the attorneys for the respective parties
5 herein, and in compliance with Rule 221 of the Uniform
6 Rules for the Trial Courts
7 THAT the parties recognize the provision of
8 Rule 3115 subdivisions (b), (c) and/or (d). All
9 objections made at a deposition shall be noted by the
10 officer before whom the deposition is taken, and the
11 answer shall be given and the deposition shall proceed
12 subject to the objections and to the right of a person
13 to apply for appropriate relief pursuant to Article 31
14 of the CPLR.
15 THAT every objection raised during a
16 deposition shall be stated succinctly and framed so as
17 not to suggest an answer to the deponent and, at the
18 request of the questioning attorney, shall include a
19 clear statement as to any defect in form or other basis
20 of error or irregularity. Except to the extent
21 permitted by CPLR Rule 3115 or by this rule, during the
22 course of the examination persons in attendance shall
23 not make statements or comments that interfere with the
24 questioning
25 THAT a deponent shall answer all questions at a
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2 deposition, except (i) to preserve a privilege or right
3 of confidentiality, (ii) to enforce a limitation set
4 forth in an order of a court, or (iii) when the question
5 is plainly improper and would, if answered, cause
6 significant prejudice to any person. An attorney shall
7 not direct a deponent not to answer except as provided
8 in CPLR Rule 3115 or this subdivision. Any refusal to
9 answer or direction not to answer shall be accompanied
10 by a succinct and clear statement of the basis
11 therefore. If the deponent does not answer a question,
12 the examining party shall have the right to complete the
13 remainder of the deposition
14 THAT an attorney shall not interrupt the
15 deposition for the purpose of communicating with the
16 deponent unless all parties consent or the communication
17 is made for the purpose of determining whether the
18 question should not be answered on the grounds set forth
19 in section 221.2 of these rules and, in such event, the
20 reason for the communication shall be stated for the
21 record succinctly and clearly.
22 THAT failure to object to any question
23 or to move to strike any testimony at this examination
24 shall not be a bar or waiver to make such objection or
25 motion at the time of the trial of this action, and is
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JOHN J. GADOMSKI, M.D. - 6/21/2013
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2 hereby reserved; and
3 THAT this examination may be signed and
4 sworn to by the witness examined herein before any
5 Notary Public, but failure to do so or to return the
6 original of the examination to the attorney on whose
7 behalf the examination is taken shall not be deemed a
8 waiver of the rights provided by Rules 3116 and 3117 of
9 the CPLR, and shall be controlled thereby, and
10 THAT certification and filing of the
11 original of this examination are waived; and
12 THAT the questioning attorney shall provide
13 counsel for the witness examined herein with a copy of
14 this examination at no charge.
15
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2 J O H N J. G A D O M S K I, having been first duly
3 sworn by Rosemarie Tulumello(Ellis), a Notary Public of
4 the State of New York, was examined and testified as
5 follows:
6 EXAMINATION BY
7 MR. SHERMAN:
8 Q Please state your name for the record.
9 A John J. Gadomski.
10 Q What is your address?
11 A 1492 Clove Road, Staten Island, New York
12 10301.
13 Q Good morning, Doctor.
14 A Good morning.
15 Q My name is Todd Sherman and I'm an attorney
16 with the Law Firm of Ravi Batra. We represent
17 Robert Valenti in a lawsuit that's currently
18 pending in Richmond County. I'm going to be
19 asking you a series of questions. I'm going
20 to ask that you give me the most complete and
21 thorough answer that you can to my questions.
22 If you don't understand anything I ask you or
23 you need clarification, please tell me and I
24 will be glad to do my best to rephrase. Do
25 you understand that I need you to answer
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JOHN J. GADOMSKI, M.D. - 6/21/2013
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2 verbally --
3 A Yes.
4 Q -- for the court reporter. If you don't tell
5 me that you don't understand a question, I'm
6 going to assume that you do.
7 A Okay.
8 Q Can we agree that that's what I'm going to do?
9 A You can do what you'd like.
10 Q Okay.
11 Without getting into specifics, prior to
12 coming here today, did you take any
13 medications or consume any substance that
14 would inhibit your ability to be able to
15 understand questions?
16 A No.
17 Q Did you take any medications or any substances
18 that would impair your ability to tell the
19 truth?
20 A No.
21 Q Do you remember Robert Valenti?
22 A Yes.
23 Q What do you remember about Robert Valenti?
24 A He was a patient.
25 Q Do you remember what he looks like?
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2 A Tall.
3 Q About how tall do you recall him being?
4 A Over six.
5 MS. STEINFELD: Feet?
6 A Feet.
7 Q Do you recall his hair color?
8 A No.
9 Q He was a patient of yours at your own private
10 office?
11 A Yes.
12 Q Where is the private office located?
13 A 1492 Clove Road.
14 Q Is that the address you gave the reporter?
15 A Yes.
16 Q Now the reporter had asked for your home
17 address; is that correct?
18 A Yes.
19 Q Is your home address and your work address the
20 same?
21 A Yes.
22 Q Do you recall when Mr. Valenti first became a
23 patient of yours?
24 MS. STEINFELD: You can look at your
25 record if you need.
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JOHN J. GADOMSKI, M.D. - 6/21/2013
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2 Q If you are going to refer to the chart, I'm
3 just going to ask that it be marked for
4 identification purposes as Plaintiff's 1, so
5 we will have the reporter mark the exterior of
6 the chart. Of course you will retain custody
7 of it.
8 MS. STEINFELD: Do you want him to
9 answer the question first?
10 MR. SHERMAN: Sure.
11 A October 1, '09.
12 (Whereupon, office chart was
13 marked as Plaintiff's Exhibit 1 for
14 identification, as of this date.)
15 Q Now referring you to Plaintiff's 1 for
16 identification, this is the chart that you
17 maintain regarding the care and treatment of
18 Robert Valenti?
19 A Yes.
20 Q Has that chart continuously been in your
21 possession?
22 A Yes.
23 Q At any time has it left your possession?
24 A No.
25 Q Prior to today, when was the last time you
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2 reviewed the chart regarding Robert Valenti
3 that's marked as Plaintiff's 1?
4 A Prior to today?
5 Q Prior to today.
6 A Yesterday.
7 Q Okay.
8 And prior to yesterday, had you reviewed
9 it any time recently?
10 MS. STEINFELD: Are you talking about
11 on his own at all, with his attorney; what
12 are you asking?
13 MR. SHERMAN: That's a fair question.
14 Q On your own without counsel's request or
15 presence, when was the last time prior to
16 yesterday that you reviewed the plaintiff's
17 chart?
18 A Several months ago.
19 Q And why did you review it several months ago?
20 A Cause it was on my desk.
21 Q Do you know why it was on your desk?
22 A Yeah. I keep close eye on it.
23 Q Why do you keep a close eye on this chart?
24 A Because I have to keep possession of it,
25 you know, and I have to bring it in to see
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2 you --
3 Q Okay.
4 A -- and I know it's going to be an exhibit.
5 Q Did you review the entirety of the chart
6 several months ago?
7 A Don't remember.
8 Q In preparation for today's deposition, did you
9 review anything other than the chart that's
10 been marked as Plaintiff's 1?
11 A I don't recall.
12 Q Independent of a review the chart, do you
13 recall the last time that you saw Robert
14 Valenti?
15 MS. STEINFELD: He is saying without
16 looking at your chart.
17 THE WITNESS: Oh.
18 A Several years ago.
19 Q Do you recall Robert Valenti coming to your
20 office with anyone other than himself, so
21 accompanied by someone else?
22 A Yes, he was accompanied by someone else.
23 Q Do you recall whom he was accompanied by
24 without reviewing your chart?
25 A His boyfriend.
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2 Q Okay.
3 Did you ever obtain the name of his
4 boyfriend while you were treating him as a
5 patient?
6 A No.
7 Q When I say "him," I'm referring to Mr.
8 Valenti.
9 A No.
10 Q How did you know that the person who
11 accompanied him was his boyfriend?
12 A I was told that.
13 Q By whom?
14 A Them.
15 Q So both Mr. Valenti and his boyfriend told you
16 that they were in a relationship?
17 A Yes.
18 Q Did you ever take a medical history from Mr.
19 Valenti?
20 A Brief, yes.
21 Q Why did you take a brief medical history from
22 Mr. Valenti?
23 A It's my normal custom.
24 Q And by "a brief medical history," what do you
25 mean?
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2 A If he has any medical problems and --
3 Q Do you recall if Mr. Valenti told you that he
4 had any medical problems?
5 MS. STEINFELD: Are you asking again
6 separate and apart from review of his
7 medical chart?
8 MR. SHERMAN: Yes.
9 MS. STEINFELD: So without referring
10 to your chart. It's whatever you recall.
11 A Blood pressure.
12 Q And do you recall that independently or do you
13 recall that based upon your review of the
14 chart yesterday?
15 A Probably based on review of my chart
16 yesterday.
17 Q Okay. Thank you.
18 Was Mr. Valenti's blood pressure a
19 consideration in any care and treatment that
20 you rendered to him?
21 A No.
22 Q Why not?
23 A Not my custom to treat blood pressure.
24 Q Does blood pressure have any impact on any
25 dermatological condition that you believed Mr.
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2 Valenti had?
3 MS. STEINFELD: Objection to the form.
4 You can answer.
5 A No.
6 Q Independent of your review of the chart, do
7 you have an independent recollection of why
8 Mr. Valenti first came to see you in October
9 of 2009?
10 A He came with complaint of a problem on his
11 foot.
12 Q Do you recall independently what the --
13 withdrawn.
14 Do you recall ever looking at Mr.
15 Valenti's foot? Again, right now --
16 A Yes.
17 Q -- I'm asking apart from the chart.
18 A Yes.
19 Q Okay.
20 Do you recall which foot he complained of?
21 A I think left.
22 Q Okay.
23 Did you look at his left foot?
24 A I did.
25 Q Did you palpate his left foot?
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2 A I held it, specifically.
3 Q Okay.
4 Was there any particular part of Mr.
5 Valenti's left foot that he complained of?
6 A Between his fifth and fourth toe.
7 Q And what was Mr. Valenti's complaint?
8 A Itching, burning.
9 Q Was there anything physically observable about
10 Mr. Valenti's left foot when you held it in
11 October 2009 that you took note of?
12 MS. STEINFELD: Objection to the form.
13 You can answer.
14 THE WITNESS: I'm sorry?
15 MS. STEINFELD: I just objected to the
16 form of the question. You can answer if
17 you are able to.
18 A Yeah. Between his fourth and fifth toe,
19 he had maceration and erythema and very
20 interesting smell.
21 Q Was the smell emanating from that area of his
22 left foot?
23 A Yes.
24 Q Had you ever smelled anything like that prior
25 to examining Mr. Valenti's left foot?
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2 A Yes.
3 Q When did you first experience a similar odor?
4 MS. STEINFELD: Objection.
5 Q If you recall.
6 MS. STEINFELD: In his entire
7 practice?
8 MR. SHERMAN: That's correct or
9 training.
10 A I have no idea exactly when.
11 Q Okay.
12 Did you experience such a smell during
13 your medical training?
14 A Yes.
15 Q And in what part of your medical training did
16 you experience such a smell?
17 A Dermatology.
18 Q Was this before or after medical school?
19 A During.
20 Q Prior to today, have you ever testified?
21 A Yes.
22 Q Have you ever testified at a deposition?
23 A Yes.
24 Q Have you ever testified as a party in a
25 deposition?
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2 MS. STEINFELD: Objection.
3 You can answer.
4 Q Meaning whether you were the plaintiff or
5 defendant. I'm not asking which one.
6 A Yeah.
7 Q Have you ever testified at trial?
8 A Yes.
9 Q Have you ever testified as a party at trial,
10 meaning plaintiff or defendant?
11 MS. STEINFELD: Objection.
12 You can answer.
13 A Yes.
14 Q Have you ever testified as an expert?
15 A No.
16 Q Have you ever provided an expert affidavit?
17 MS. STEINFELD: If you know what that
18 is.
19 A I don't know what that is.
20 Q Have you ever provided an expert opinion to
21 anyone outside of a patient whom you were
22 treating?
23 A No.
24 Q Okay.
25 Under what circumstances had you
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2 previously encountered the odor or similar
3 odor to what you encountered with Mr. Valenti
4 in October 2009?
5 MS. STEINFELD: Objection.
6 Irrelevant.
7 A A patient that had a fungus, a macerated
8 fungus in the foot.
9 Q Approximately how many times have you
10 encountered a similar odor?
11 A I have no way of knowing.
12 Q Okay.
13 Why did you refer to the smell as
14 interesting?
15 A It was pungent and sourish.
16 Q How far was Mr. Valenti's foot from your nose?
17 A About five feet from my nose.
18 Q How far was Mr. Valenti's foot from your nose
19 when you had first encountered the smell?
20 A About this far, from here to there.
21 (Indicating)
22 MS. STEINFELD: Estimate with words.
23 THE WITNESS: Excuse me?
24 MS. STEINFELD: You have to verbalize
25 for the record.
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2 A Oh, approximately four to six inches.
3 Q At the time that you first encountered the
4 odor, was Mr. Valenti's foot unsocked and
5 unclothed?
6 A Yes.
7 Q Okay.
8 So it was a bare foot?
9