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Docs take the witness stand

by Barbados Today
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Two medical practitioners gave evidence in the murder trial of Andrew Pollard today in the No. 2 Supreme Court.

Pollard, who is on trial for the March 2014 killing of Onicka Gulliver, claims he was beaten while in police custody. He visited a number of doctors in relation to injuries sustained from the alleged beating.

Dr Colin Alert said when he saw Pollard on April 8, 2014 he complained of blurred vision, swelling on his lower eyelid and deafness in the left ear. Pollard told Alert that he was seen by ear, throat and nose consultant Dr Vincent Clarke for the deafness in his left ear.

An examination by Alert, who practiced from 1987, revealed a sty on the left eye and tenderness over his sinuses. There was also tenderness on the left side of his abdomen. A tear was also found in the left ear.

“My overall assessment was that he had a sty on his left eye, sinusitis and abdominal pain which was muscular,” Alert said.

He advised Pollard to apply a warm compress to the sty and prescribed eye drops. For the abdominal pain, pain killers were given and he advised Pollard about his diet.

The doctor said different things could cause a tear to the eardrum such as severe trauma to the head or face, being close to a loud sound like an explosion, underwater pressure change and a longstanding ear infection could cause the drums to be weak and rupture.

According to Alert, no specific explanation was given for the muscular pain in Pollard’s abdomen and there was no indication of internal issues.

“The tenderness just seemed to be the muscle wall of the abdomen,” Alert explained.

Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Alliston Seale asked Dr Alert to explain, in detail, what caused the sty and he said there was no particular cause for it but it was “not normally associated with physical injury”.

“If one has a blow that causes an eardrum to rupture they should be injury to the outer part of the ear?” Seale asked? Alert replied: “If you see the patient shortly after.”

Alert’s diagnosis of muscular pain in the abdomen was also questioned.

“Apart from anything visual you then have to depend on the patient and the patient’s truthfulness?,” Seale questioned.

“…To some extent no. There are scenarios where patients can fake an injury but I did not get that impression from this patient at this time. There was nothing visual. I just went by his word and my examination,” Alert responded. He said Pollard did not tell him that he was beaten by anyone.

The next witness to take the stand was Dr. Andrew Murray, who has been practicing medicine for 27 years.

He saw Pollard on March 14, 2014 and on March 17, 2014. On the first visit, he was in the company of a police constable when he examined him. Pollard had a laceration on the upper lip and constipation based on Murray’s examination.

He said the laceration would have been caused by an impact with a solid object.

Pollard’s attorney Sydney Pinder read from Murray’s medical report in which the doctor stated that “injuries sustained by this patient are consistent with injury arising from trauma occurring within 24 hours preceding the initial consultation”.

The report also suggested that the injury occurred while he was in police station adding “this was unusual and unexpected for this patient and surely would have caused him some emotional stress”.

Murray said the trauma he referred to was in relation to the laceration and the timeline between the healing from the laceration and the time that he was in custody gave the impression it occurred in custody.

When Seale cross examined, Murray said there were no facial or abdominal injuries or any injuries on his body at all.

“If a person was in police custody for at least three days and allegedly beaten about the body and face by seven people, even up until prior to seeing you on the same day,… would you reasonably expect to see some facial or bodily injuries?” Seale asked? Murray replied: “It is very likely there would be other problems.”

Murray also said that when he asked about the lip injury Pollard told him he may have fallen but wasn’t sure.

The trial continues tomorrow at 9:30 a.m.

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