A medical examiner testified that George Zimmerman's injuries were "insignificant" and could have been the result of a single blow as prosecutors continued to make their case that the neighborhood watch volunteer was not simply defending himself when he shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.But it's not just Dr. Rao -- even Fox medical contributor Dr. Marc Siegel, who earns his Murdoch paychecks primarily by bashing Obamacare, doesn't believe Zimmerman is telling the truth:
Dr. Valerie Rao, who was called by the prosecution to provide her assessment of Zimmerman's injuries based on photos, cast doubt on Zimmerman's claim his head was repeatedly bashed against the pavement as he fought with Martin in the Feb. 26, 2012 incident.
"The injuries are so minor that the word slam implies great force," Rao said in response to questioning by prosecutor John Guy. "There was not great force used here."
Rao said Zimmerman's injuries were not only "not life threatening" but were also "very insignificant." She said the injuries to the back of Zimmerman's head were consistent with hitting the ground but the injuries on his face were from consistent with one punch or strike....
... The striking photographs of an injured Zimmerman has been used at trial to suggest that he was badly beaten, but I must tell you that they don't look that way to me nor to Dr. Michael Baden, one the top forensic pathologists in the U.S.If the Fox News guy won't even swallow Zimmerman's talking points, he's got to be faking it.
I discussed the photos with Dr. Baden and he agreed that the wounds "appear superficial."
Earlier in my career I treated hundreds of scrapes and cuts like the ones on the back of George Zimmerman's head at the Bellevue Hospital Emergency Room.
The scalp is very vascular and bleeds easily, making a cut look worse than it is. The same is true for the nose, and the fact that Zimmerman's was bloodied doesn't imply that he was hit hard.
The EMTs' testimony that Zimmerman was able to answer questions at the scene and was able to stand and walk to the squad car and declined to go to the hospital also go against there having been significant injury.
There appears to be a growing body of evidence that George Zimmerman wasn't badly hurt by Trayvon Martin....
Of course, Siegel (who was briefly my doctor about a decade ago) used to be a lefty and a columnist for The Nation. So maybe he hasn't gone completely over to the dark side.
None of this means that Zimmerman will be convicted. I thought he'd get off even before the trial started. But he's guilty.
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