I State of Ohio,
SS,
2 County of Scioto.)
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4 IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS

6 WILLIAM NICHOLS, et al.,
7 Plaintiffs,
8 VS. Case No. 93-CI-193
9 FAMILY MEDI-CENTER,
et al.,
10
Defendants.
11
12
13 DEPOSITION-OF PETER JOHN BROOKS, M.D.
14 Tuesday, February 8, 1994
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16 The deposition of PETER JOHN BROOKS, M.D., a
17 witness, called by counsel for the Defendants for
la examination under the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure,
19 taken before me, Kristin A. Beutler, a Registered
20 Professional Reporter and Notary Public in and for
21 the State of Ohio, by agreement of counsel, at The
22 Cleveland Clinic Foundation, 9500 Euclid Avenue,
23 Cleveland, Ohio, commencing at 10:00 a.m., on the
24 day and date above set forth.
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2

I APPEARANCES:

2 On behalf of the Plaintiff:

3 RICHARD BERRIS, ESQ.
Weisman, Goldberg & Weisman Co., L.P.A.
4 1600 Midland Building
Cleveland, Ohio 44115
5
On behalf of the Defendants:
6
ROBERT E. DEVER, ESQ.
7 Bannon, Howland & Dever
325 Masonic Building
8 Portsmouth, Ohio 45662

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3
I PETER JOHN BROOKS, M.D.
2 a witness, called by counsel for the
3 Defendants for examination under the Rules,
4 having been first duly sworn, as hereinafter
5 certified, was deposed and said as follows:
6 CROSS-EXAMINATION
7 BY MR. DEVER:
8 Q. Now, Doctor, for the record, would you state
9 your full name and your business address, sir?
10 A. Peter John Brooks, The Cleveland Clinic
11 Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio.
12 Q. Now, Dr. Brooks, your secretary, prior to my
13 coming in here, gave me a copy of your
14 curriculum vitae. Is it up-to-date?
15 A. Yes, it is.
16 MR. DEVER: Would you mind if we
17 mark this, Richard, and have this as an
18 exhibit?
19 MR. BERRIS: No.
20 (Defendants' Exhibit A marked.)
21 Q. Doctor, in looking over your curriculum vitae,
22 I think I noticed that obviously you are a
23 specialist in orthopedics?
24 A. Yes, right, orthopedic surgery.
25 Q. And you are Board certified?
4
1 A Right.
2 Q. And is that exclusively what you do --
3 A. Yes.
4 Q. -- orthopedics, you don't treat patients for
5 any other specialty?
6 A. orthopedic patients.
7 Yes. And you've been doing that for how long?
8 From the beginning, really, I noticed your
9 training was in that.
10 A. I finished my training in 1984, and I've been
11 treating orthopedic patients since then.
12 Q. And in your position here at Cleveland Clinic,
13 you either-treat patients or are involved in
14 instruction, teaching; is that right?
15 A. Yes.
16 O. And you do some research?
17 A. Hardly; a little bit.
18 Q. So most of your time is spent in treating
19 patients and in teaching; is that right?
20 A. Yes.
21 Q. Now, Dr. Brooks, have you testified in
22 lawsuits before?
23 A. Yes.
24 Q. In person, or by deposition?
25 A. Both.
5
1 Q. Both. Primarily for defendants or plaintiffs,
2 or is there any ratio?
3 A. I can't recall. I was on a lot of
4 medical-legal recording, and probably on both
5 ends.
6 Are you listed with some service, or how do
7 you happen to do that?
8 A. I don't seek that work out, they come, that
9 comes.
10 To you?
11 A. That comes to me, primarily because of the
12 nature of my work. orthopedic surgery often
13 involves personal injuries.
14 Q. So approximately how many times have you
15 testified either -- well, let's say in person,
16 in court?
17 A. Oh, just twice, I would think.
18 Q. And by deposition?
19 A. Three times, four times.
20 And that's over a period of, what, four or
21 five years?
22 A. That's over my entire career of 10 years. But
23 1 would say that I've provided hundreds of
24 papers, medical-legal opinions.
25 Q. Right. Now, you say you've done it actually
6
1 for plaintiffs and defendants?
2 A. I'm sure I have.
3 Q. And have you testified for Mr. Berris' firm
4 before?
5 A. No.
6 Q. Did you know Mr. Berris before this case?
7 A. No.
8 Q. I have looked at the hospital record of The
9 Cleveland Clinic. Do you keep a separate,
10 independent file?
11 A. No.
12 Q. So everything you have is in The Cleveland
13 Clinic file?-
14 A. Yes.
15 Q. And what have you reviewed for this deposition
16 today?
17 A. Basically, just the dates of his surgery and
18 the history from when I first saw him.
19 Q. Mow, Dr. Brooks, I think I understand from the
20 report that I saw, that you wrote -- and if
21 I'm wrong, I'm only trying to get to the point
22 and get this -- is it my understanding that
23 you have no experience in steroids, is that
24 correct? Would that be basically --
25 A. That would be an extreme way of putting it.
7
I What are you referring to?
2 Q. How would you describe your experience in
3 steroids?
4 A. I do not treat conditions that primarily
5 require the use of steroids; I'm an orthopedic
6 s