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The sixth week of the Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard defamation trial commenced on Monday, May 23, with the testimony of orthopedic surgeon Dr. Richard Moore. The doctor appeared to be deposed in front of the jury in person and spoke about Depp's severed fingertip injury sustained in 2015's Australia incident.
Dr. Moore testified that he reviewed the documents and prior testimonies regarding Depp's finger injury. He concluded that the damage was likely not caused by a vodka bottle allegedly thrown at the actor.
The surgeon also claimed that he has vast experience with hand injuries like what was sustained by Depp in 2015. Dr. Moore claims to have treated and operated on hands with similar injuries to that of the actor's "hundreds (of times), if not more."
What did Dr. Richard Moore say about Johnny Depp's finger injury?
In the trial, the jury members were shown the x-rays of Johnny Depp's hand following the injury. Moore testified that the doctors who treated the Pirates of the Caribbean star did not find any other damages or shards of glass on Depp's body or clothes.
Dr. Richard Moore further explained that he has never witnessed an incident with broken glass where the glass pieces or particles were not found on the person. The surgeon specializing in hand injuries also pointed out that Depp's story is inconsistent with what was found in the clinical diagnosis and record, as the actor had claimed the vodka bottle crushed his finger.
In July 2020, Johnny Depp told the UK High Court amid his lawsuit against The Sun about how he injured his finger. He said:
"After the incident where Ms. Heard threw the vodka bottle, the second vodka bottle at me, which severed the top of my finger and crushed the bones, that's when I began what I feel was probably some species of a breakdown, a nervous breakdown or something."
However, Dr. Moore scrutinized Johnny Depp's claims and pointed out that the fingernail was not affected amid the fingertip getting severed. He further claimed that the injury was on the underside of the finger. Previously, Depp's former private doctor David Kipper revealed that the actor himself was to be blamed for his injury.
What is known about Dr. Richard Moore, who testified against Johnny Depp?
Dr. Richard Moore is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon who specializes in hand surgery and upper extremity microsurgery. Moore is currently associated with New Hanover Regional Medical Center Orthopedic Hospital.
According to his profile, Moore received a bachelor's degree in biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Later, he attended medical school there, after which he completed his residency at the University of Pennsylvania. The surgeon also completed a fellowship at Duke University in Durham, NC. Later, he specialized in "Hand, Upper Extremity and Microvascular Surgery," according to his biography page on EmergeOrtho's website.
Dr. Moore is well established in his field and is associated with the American Society for Surgery of the Hand. However, in the trial, during cross-examination by Depp's lawyer Camille Vasquez, it was found that Moore did not perform surgery on the 58-year-old actor's hand and was not present at the time of initial assessment of the injury.
