CNN —
Testimony Thursday at the trial of a 2016 skiing accident involving Gwyneth Paltrow began with testimony from a clinical neuropsychologist who treated the man suing the actress.
Alina K. Fong testified via video recording of the care she gave to Terry Sanderson, 76, who has accused Paltrow of colliding with him and causing him permanent injuries and brain damage while they were both on a beginner’s run in February skiing a mountain in Utah in 2016.
Fong said she first saw Sanderson in May 2017 and described him as complaining of “a variety of symptoms,” including cognitive problems, fatigue, mood and personality changes, aches and pains and headaches.
“When I saw him, he had been struggling with these concussion symptoms for almost a year and a half,” she testified.
Sanderson and Paltrow have been involved in a legal battle for seven years.
In court documents obtained by CNN, Sanderson stated that Paltrow allegedly “spun out of control … knocked him out hard, knocked him unconscious, and caused a brain injury as well as four broken ribs and other serious injuries.” ”
Paltrow filed a counterclaim against Sanderson, a retired optometrist, alleging that he drove into her.
According to Paltrow’s counterclaim, “She was enjoying skiing with her family while on vacation in Utah when the plaintiff — who was uphill from Ms. Paltrow — plowed into her back. She suffered a full ‘body hit’. Ms. Paltrow was angry with the plaintiff and said so. The plaintiff apologized. She was shaken and upset and stopped skiing for the day even though it was still morning.”
During cross-examination, Paltrow’s attorney, James Egan Fong, questioned whether it was possible that Sanderson’s symptoms were due to something other than the accident.
“Anything is possible, but not likely,” Fong replied.
Sanderson’s middle daughter, Polly Sanderson Grasham, 49, testified that her father was “a walker” before the accident.
“I think people would describe him as fun-loving, very sociable and definitely an extrovert,” she said. “(He) enjoyed people, dancing, outdoor activities.”
In testimony that got emotional at times, Sanderson Grasham, who lives in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, said a year and a half after the crash that she noticed her father’s “processing speed” appeared to have changed.
She described seeing him once sitting in a chair by a window in her home and said she “almost expected drool to come out of his mouth.”
“First, he wasn’t engaged to anyone,” she said. “He had somehow gotten himself into a secluded corner. That was my first real slap in the face that something is terribly wrong.”
Sanderson Grasham later said her father was a “principled man” and she believes he wanted “someone who on that day at least apologizes or acknowledges or is held accountable for their decision.”
Sanderson initially sued Paltrow for $3.1 million but later amended his lawsuit and is now seeking more than $300,000 in damages, according to court documents.
Paltrow is seeking $1 in damages plus attorneys’ fees.
Richard Boehme, a biomedical engineer, also videotaped testimony Thursday as an expert witness.
Böhme testified that he believed the injuries Sanderson sustained to his ribs could only have been the result of a blow from behind.
Sanderson is expected to take the stand Friday, his attorneys told the judge Thursday.
Paltrow, who was also scheduled to testify Friday, will only testify “if there is time,” Sanderson’s attorney said.