Gwyneth Paltrow's plaintiff blames actress for giving her "near-death experiences"

Doctors took the stand and questioned the causes of the cognitive decline of the optometrist accusing the artist.

This Wednesday Terry Sanderson, the optometrist who sued actress Gwyneth Paltrow, spoke in court about the medical problems he had after the skiing accident and claimed he went through three near-death experiences.

In the lawsuit, the 76-year-old doctor claimed that the fall he says he suffered because of the famous Hollywood entertainer caused him permanent traumatic brain injury, four broken ribs, pain, emotional distress and loss of enjoyment of life.

Now the optometrist also claimed that the accident led to three "near-death experiences," including an accidental overdose resulting from a medication mix-up.

"You blame Ms. Paltrow for all of those near-death experiences?" the actress's attorney, Stephen Owens, asked. To which the physician responded with an affirmation, asserting that "It's very unusual for me to not make good medical decisions."

Experts question causes of plaintiff's cognitive decline

Angela Eastvold, an expert neuropsychologist, stated in court that some of the plaintiff's health symptoms could be related to dementia or anxiety and not the skiing accident.

According to the expert, anxiety "was playing a big role in his perceived difficulties" when he sought medical treatment a year after the collision. She highlighted that it was possible that the plaintiff does not remember the problems he had before the accident, as she believes that people can "misremember" health details before a concussion and cling to the fact that the cause of everything stems from that injury.

Robert Hoesch, another neurologist, gave a similar opinion Wednesday when he took the stand and said that the optometrist's symptoms may have more to do with pre-existing depression or anxiety than a concussion.