Final Witness Backs Up Johnny Depp's Finger Injury Allegations

Actor Johnny Depp and ex-wife Amber Heard continue to make headlines as the trial approaches closing arguments on Friday.

The couple has been facing each other at the Fairfax County Circuit Court for most of the past month. The “Pirates of the Caribbean” actor is suing his ex-wife for $50 million over a December 2018 op-ed Heard wrote for the Washington Post where she claims that she is a domestic violence survivor. Although she did not mention Depp by name, he claims that he has lost movie roles due to the “clear implication” that he was her abuser. Heard claims that she has also been losing out on movie roles, including several scenes from the upcoming “Aquaman” sequel, and is countersuing for $100 million dollars.

Depp's legal team only has one more witness to call to the stand before Heard's team has a chance to call final witnesses. Closing arguments are still scheduled for Friday.

Dr. Gilbert is an orthopedic surgeon that focuses on hand, wrist, and elbow injuries. He was the first witness Depp's legal team called to the stand on Thursday morning. Dr. Gilbert said that he has been licensed in New York since 1994 and performs anywhere between 300 and 400 surgeries a year.

Dr. Gilbert said that the injury could have occurred the way that Depp described. Depp had said that Heard had thrown a vodka bottle at him and the glass sliced off the tip of his finger. Dr. Gilbert told the jury that glass lacerations could result in soft tissue loss, as well as causing the fracture found in his finger.

Depp had said that his fingers had been hanging over the bar, which had a marble top. Dr. Gilbert said that it was possible that the vodka bottle had crushed the finger between the hard marble top and the bottle.

He said that he agreed with the medical expert brought out by Heard's legal team in terms of his interpretation of the X-ray. However, Dr. Moore had testified that the injury could not have occurred the way that Depp had alleged. Dr. Gilbert disagreed and felt that it was possible that Depp lost his fingers from a vodka bottle that was thrown at him.

Dr. Moore also theorized that Depp had lost his finger in a "pinching" incident. Dr. Gilbert conceded that it was "possible" but ultimately felt that it was more of a laceration from the glass bottle. He explained that a pinching injury would have led to more damage to the finger overall.

Dr. Moore also testified that the vodka bottle would not have generated enough force to cause soft tissue loss. Dr. Gilbert disagreed and said that the vodka bottle would be able to create "sufficient" force to cause the injury that Johnny Depp sustained in Australia.

Dr. Gilbert also explained that it was not surprising that small glass shards were not found in Depp's hand because they likely broke into larger pieces. He testified that there was no way that anyone could state definitively how Depp lost his finger before Depp's team wrapped questioning.

This was the last witness for Depp's legal team. Heard's team will now offer their rebuttal. Amber Heard is expected to be called as the last witness of the day before closing arguments take place on Friday morning.