HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-07-10IN RE: IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF
CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
GARNET J. HACKLING,
An Alleged Incapacitated Person ORPHANS COURT DIVISION
NO. 10-0215
DEPOSITION OF: MICHAEL O. DANIELS, M.D.
TAKEN BY: Petitioner
BEFORE: CHERYL FARNER DONOVAN
Reg. Professional ReporterlNotary
DATE: Tuesday, March 30, 2010, 5:00 p.m.
PLACE: Office of Deponent
Three Springs Family Practice
303 North Baltimore Avenue
Mt. Holly Springs, PA 17065
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APPEARANCES: b~ ~`' `,ry",=%
FREY & TILEY =_ ~~•
BY: ROBERT G. FREY, ESQUIRE n~ N ~~
5 South Hanover Street ~
Carlisle, PA 17013
FOR -Petitioner, James L. Hackling
ORIGINAL
CHERYL FARNER DONO~VAN
Registered Rv€essional CotM fleporler
906 BuNehead Road
New~rdle, PA 17241
- Phone (717) 776.3515
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Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Held at Deponent's office, Mt. Hotly Springs, Pennsylvania i
Transcript of testimony taken at the deposition of
Michael O. Daniels, M.D., in lieu of the doctor appearing in person,
in the matter of Garnet J. Mackling, an alleged incapacitated person,
Orphans Court Division No. 10-0215. The following proceedings
were held:
(Commenced at 5:03 p.m.)
Whereupon,
MICHAEL OWAIN DANIELS, M.D., having been
first duly sworn, according to law, testified as follows:
DIRECT EXAMINATION
BY MR. FREY:
Q Could you please state your name and business address
for the record?
A Michael Owain Daniels. The address here is 303 North
Baltimore Avenue, Mount Holly Springs, PA 17065.
Q Dr. Daniels, if I am unclear in any of my questions or if
I do not ask the question in a way which you know how to respond,
please ask me to repeat or clarify the question. And you do have
your medical records with you and certainly feel free to refer to
them as needed to respond.
What are your professional degrees, medical
degrees?
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A I'm an M.D., medical doctor from Hershey
Medical Center. I have additional training as a family physician so
I'm a board certified residency trained family doctor, and I have
additional certification in Geriatrics.
Q Very good. How long have you been practicing
medicine?
A I graduated medical school in 1978.
Q Are you familiar with Garnet Mackling?
A I am.
Q She is a patient of yours?
A Yes, she is.
Q And do you know approximately how long you have
treated her?
A It probably is in the 10 or 12 year range. I have a
medical record that is an electronic medical record, but she also has
a paper record that's in storage that predates this.
Q Certainly, that's fine. Thank you. Can you say when
the most recent examination of her would have been?
A Yes. That was July of `09 was the last time I saw
I her.
Q Okay. At that examination or previous examinations
what did you observe as far as her mental or physical condition?
A Garnet has dementia. She has Alzheimer's dementia
and that has been present for several years, and that was
quite evident on her last exam in July. She remains a very social
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sort of flirtatious person but she has no immediate recall and very
poor recent memory.
Q Okay. From your examinations and observations would
you say that she is able to make reasonable or responsible decisions
concerning medical or surgical treatment or personal care?
A No. She no longer has that capacity.
Q Has she been able to communicate with you concerning i
her medical condition?
A She really doesn't understand what's going on with her,
so most of our conversation is very social but not focused on her
medical problems.
Q Okay. Would you say that she would be able to be
responsible for taking any medication she needed without
assistance?
A No, sir, she needs supervision.
Q In the course of your examining Mrs. Mackling have
you had the opportunity to discuss her condition with her husband
who is the Petitioner to be appointed guardian?
A Yes.
Q In your discussions do you feel he understands her
limitations?
A Yes. I think he has a very clear understanding of her
limitations. Of course he is the source of much of the medical
information, the functional information that I have to rely on
to assess her.
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Q And, from your observations, would you say that he is
adequately providing that attention to medical care?
A I think he's very attentive to her.
Q Have you had any concerns that Mr. Mackling would
care for her or make decisions for his wife that were not in her best
interest?
A Based on the period of time that I've looked after her
with the dementia I think he has been an excellent caregiver and I
would not have any concerns about the appropriateness of his
decision-making for her.
Q With regard to Mrs. Mackling's condition, would you
say she is or is not able to make effective decisions concerning
financial matters?
A She no longer has executive function. She cannot do
her own finances. She can't plan. She really doesn't understand the
implications of most of the things that she has talked about. She
certainly doesn't understand decision-making relative to her medical
issues.
Q Okay. As part of this guardenship proceeding there will
be a hearing at which we will present the deposition we are taking
now. Mrs. Mackling would have the right to have an attorney
appointed for her to represent her at that hearing. Do you feel she
would be able to effectively communicate with an attorney that
would be appointed?
A I think her language skills are fine but
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1 her cognitive function is very impaired, so I don't think she would
Z understand what those discussions entailed.
Q I believe that's all the questions I have. Is there
1 anything that you wish to add?
' A Well, I would just reiterate that I think Mr.
Mackling has done a superb job in a difficult circumstance. When
she comes to my clinic she is well dressed. She seems happy. She
is clearly well bathed. As far as I can tell from the frequency of
refills of her medicines he has helped her to remain compliant with
taking those medications. She interacts with him in a very favorable
way. He is always very respectful of her even though she has such
profound dementia that she repetitively asks questions; it would be
quite aggravating actually, and he seems to tolerate that in good
spirits. I wish I had more spouses who took care of their demented
relative the way that he has.
Q Okay. Thank you very much.
A You're welcome.
(Concluded at 5:10 p.m.)
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CERTIFICATION
I, CHERYL FARNER DONOVAN, Registered
Professional Reporter and Notary Public, certify that the foregoing
is a true and accurate transcript of the deposition of MICHAEL O.
DANIELS, M.D., who was first duly sworn before me at the place
and on the date hereinbefore set forth.
I further certify that I am neither attorney nor counsel
for, nor related to or employed by any of the parties to the action in
which this deposition is taken, and further that I am not a relative or
employee of any attorney or counsel employed in this case, nor am I
financially interested in the action.
i
Cheryl Farner Donovan
Registered Professional Reporter
Notary Public, Cumberland County
My commission expires July 23, 2011
NOTICE
(The foregoing certification of this transcript does not
apply to any reproduction of the same by any means unless under
the direct control and/or supervision of the court reporter.)
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