Doctor testifies for the defense

In Oconee Common Pleas Court, a doctor’s testimony extended from the morning into the afternoon. Dr. Robert Stewart Eades Jr., internal medicine specialist from Mount Pleasant, interpreted the notes of nurses and doctors who cared for Dorothy Reynolds during the months leading to her death. Answering questions from defense lawyer Jay Davis, Eades interpreted some of the care summaries to suggest that Reynolds was developing dementia or Alzheimer’s. At times, during the summer months of 2010, the jury was told, Reynolds required special attention for erratic behavior such as throwing objects and wandering through rooms at Seneca Health and Rehabilitation. The trial alleging medical malpractice is in its third week. Expectations are that witness testimony will conclude and the case will go to the jury room by tomorrow or the weekend.