Trialsmith Document Number 156937 accessed at www .trialsmith .com
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1 IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS
2 ASHTABULA COUNTY, OHIO
3 KAYLA CIMORELLI, et al .,
4 Plaintiffs,
Civil Action No . :
5 v.
98 CV 00632
6 ASHTABULA COUNTY MEDICAL CENTER,
7 Defendant .
8
9
10 DEPOSITION OF STEVEN MARK DONN, M.D .
11 Taken at the Offices of Esquire Deposition Services,
12 215 East Washington, Ann Arbor, Michigan, on February 21,
13 2000 commencing at or about 5 :10 p .m.
14 APPEARANCES :
15 For the Plaintiff :
16 MS . LAUREL MATTHEWS
Kampinski & Mellino Co ., L .P .A.
17 The Standard Building
1370 Ontario Street, Suite 1530
18 Cleveland, Ohio 44113
(216) 781-4110
19
For the Defendant :
20
MR. DONALD H . SWITZER
21 Bonezzi, Switzer, Murphy & Polito Co ., L .P .A.
Leader Building, Suite 1400
22 526 Superior Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44114
23 (216) 875-2767
24 REPORTED BY :
25 Tami I . Watters, CSR-3639
Certified Shorthand Reporter
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I N D E X
WITNESS :
STEVEN MARK DONN, M.D .
Examination by Ms . Matthews
EXHIBITS :
Deposition Exhibit Nos . 1 and 2
Deposition Exhibit No . 3
Page
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1 Ann Arbor, Michigan
2 February 21, 2000
3 At or about 5 :10 p .m.
4
5 (Deposition Exhibit Nos . 1 and 2 marked for
6 identification)
7 S T E V E N M. D O N N, M. D .,
8 having first been duly sworn or affirmed by the
9 Notary Public, was examined and testified as follows :
10 EXAMINATION
11 BY MS . MATTHEWS :
12 Q Doctor, my name is Laurel Matthews . I represent the
13 plaintiff in this case .
14 Could you please state your name and office address for
15 the record?
16 A Steven Mark Donn, M.D ., F5790 CS Mott Children\'s,
17 1500 East Medical Center Drive, Ann Arbor, Michigan
18 48109-0254 .
19 Q Doctor, on how many occasions have you been deposed before?
20 A I have no idea .
21 Q Can you give me an estimate?
22 A No .
23 Q More than a hundred?
24 A Possibly .
25 Q More than 200?
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1 A I don\'t keep track . It\'s possible . It could be anywhere
2 between a hundred, 200, maybe more .
3 Q How many occasions have you been retained by Mr . Switzer?
4 A I would guess probably a dozen times .
5 Q What about St . Paul Insurance?
6 A I think there have only been about two or three cases where I
7 have been directly retained by St . Paul .
8 Q Do you have any idea how many cases St . Paul has been the
9 insurer in which you\'ve been involved?
10 A No .
11 Q Can you give me a ballpark?
12 A No .
13 Q Do you know if it\'s more than 50?
14 A No, I don\'t .
15 Q You have no idea whatsoever?
16 A That\'s correct .
17 Q Why are we doing your deposition at this court reporting firm
18 instead of at your office?
19 A The University has requested that we don\'t do depositions in
20 the hospital .
21 Q The University of Michigan?
22 A Yes .
23 Q And when did they make that request?
24 A Oh, I would guess probably close to 10 years ago .
25 Q Can you tell me, is this the first time you\'ve opined the
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1 reason for a child\'s neurologic deficit was periventricular
2 leukomalacia?
3 A No, it\'s not the first .
4 Q Have you any idea how many times you\'ve had that opinion?
5 A No .
6 Q More than 10?
7 A Probably .
8 Q More than a hundred?
9 A I don\'t think so .
10 Q Somewhere between 10 and 50?
11 A I really don\'t know .
12 Q Have you, yourself, ever been sued in a malpractice case?
13 A I have recently been named in a malpractice case .
14 Q Can you tell me what the circumstances of that case is?
15 A I haven\'t the foggiest idea . I didn\'t even take care of the
16 child but I\'m named in the case .
17 Q Who is your insurance company?
18 A University is self-insured.
19 Q Are there any other particular Cleveland attorneys that
20 you\'ve worked with?
21 A I\'ve worked for several .
22 Q Can you name a few?
23 A Michael Becker, I\'ve worked for Remminger and Remminger,
24 Jacobson Maynard when they were in existence, Weston and
25 Hurd.
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1 Q Have you ever worked for Steve Crandall who is one of the
2 other attorneys in this case?
3 A I don\'t think so .
4 Q On how many occasions or what percentage of cases would you
5 say have been on behalf of the plaintiff?
6 A Probably 35 to maybe 40 percent .
7 Q When was the last time you testified for a plaintiff?
8 A I think it was this past spring .
9 Q Who was the lawyer?
10 A Carrie Wicker .
11 Q What state?
12 A Louisiana .
13 Q What is your charge for reviewing cases?
14 A Three hundred dollars an hour .
15 Q Is that a flat fee no matter what you\'re doing?
16 A For virtually all services . For deposition my fees are $300
17 for the first two hours and $500 per hour thereafter and if
18 I\'m asked to testify at trial, I seek remuneration at $350 an
19 hour for the actual amount of time that I\'m on the stand.
20 Q Do y