Bad Blood. James Baehler
that man. What about the fact that he raped me after I fell asleep when he drove me home after you were called away from the party last year for that ruptured appendix?”
“Or the fact that I beat the hell out of him when I got home that night? Yeah, it crossed my mind too, but it should never really come up in the malpractice suit.”
“God, I hope you’re right.”
“Well, anyhow, he’s not the one doing the suing you know.”
“Funny. How much is she suing for?”
“That’s the good news. It’s only fifty million.”
“Thank God. I thought we were talking serious money here. Do you mean it? You’re not kidding?”
“No, I’m not kidding, but what’s fifty million when you’re married to a rich woman.”
“Very funny. You’re making light of this.”
“Might as well. There’s nothing I can do to change it.”
“Anyone else named?”
“Sanjay and the hospital.”
“I think that you’ve done very well. I don’t know any other surgeons who have gone ten years without a suit.”
“The law of averages has caught up to me, and when it caught up it did it in a big way.”
“Wasn’t it Sanjay who said that it’s a part of doing business.”
“You’ve got a good memory.”
“Yes I do and I’ve got a good idea too,” she said flirtatiously.
“What.”
“Well, as long as I’ve been recruited for your medical research why don’t we get on with it. Let’s go to bed.”
“Why didn’t I think of that?”
“You’ve got too much on your mind. I think I’ll make you forget.”
As it turned out that was the perfect way to forget a malpractice suit and he so told his wife, but the reality is he would have to live with it until some decision was made and there would be constant reminders of it on a daily basis. Dr. Harris went back to work as if nothing had happened, but he felt that he now reached a certain milestone in medicine, a right of passage so to speak. There were approximately one thousand malpractice suits filed per month in Cook County alone. So it was the rare physician who would remain exempt.
Three days later Cliff received a call from Williams, Harrelson, and Davis, a large law firm on LaSalle Street in Chicago. He scheduled an appointment. He would have to get some coverage on his schedule with one of the other solo surgeons at the hospital and fortunately there were enough to help in a pinch. They sometimes covered for each other on weekends. The meeting was scheduled at 9 a.m. on a Saturday morning and when he arrived he was ushered into the offices of Betty Wu, a fifteen-year veteran of malpractice defense. She was short and slender, with straight black hair, and a look of determination and confidence. Her features were accentuated by just the right amount of makeup. Behind her desk was a picture of two beautiful children, a girl and a boy of estimated age, ten and eight. She greeted him warmly. “Good morning Dr. Harris. Let’s please sit at this table.”
“Sure, Mrs. Wu. Those are your children, I presume.”
“Oh, yes,” she smiled.
“They’re very handsome indeed.”
“Thank you so much. First thing, please start calling me Betty. We’re going to get to know each other quite well so we might as well be on a first name basis.”
“Then I’m Cliff.”
“Good, Cliff. Coffee?”
“Never touch it.”
“Probably a wise move for a surgeon. Tea, juice?”
“Orange juice would be great.”
“So let’s get down to business. I’ve got a copy of the medical record here, and at first read I can say I’m impressed with your documentation and what looks to me like excellent and prompt medical care.”
“I believe it was.”
“We’ll go into some details, but I will want a copy of your curriculum vitae and we’ll give you some forms that you may take home and fill out, and send back to us. Also it will help to have you sit down some day and reconstruct this case from day one in writing, and submit a copy to us.”
“Lots of work I see.”
“To say the least. The best thing you can do for yourself is to try and forget it on a daily basis. We’ll handle all the details. We’ll let you know when we need you. The first contact you’ll have with the plaintiff attorneys is when they depose you. At that point we’ll coach you in great detail. Have you ever been deposed?”
“No.”
“Has there ever been a malpractice suit filed against you”
“Never.”
“Okay.” Attorney Wu was taking notes on a legal pad as they spoke. “You know it’s important not to discuss this case with anyone.”
“So I’ve heard. Why is that?”
“Well for one thing, the first question you may be asked in a deposition is, have you spoken about this case with anyone? If you answer yes you can count on a grilling, and that person you name may be called to testify. If there is a discrepancy in what you said, it can be used against you, and trust me if there isn’t a discrepancy the plaintiff’s attorney will still manage to make the jury think there is one.”
“I’ve already seen the anesthesiologist named in the suit, and not a word passed between us.”
“Good. What about hospital administration?”
“I’ve not said a word to them, nor them to me.”
“Perfect. You’ll learn that it’s every man for himself. Everyone protects his own turf. All of you have different law firms. You’re our job. We zero in on you while we keep an eye on the other defendants. Another thing, it’s my duty to tell you that since the lawsuit is filed for much more malpractice coverage then you have, you should consider hiring your own lawyer to protect you against the excess. As attorneys hired by your insurance company we can only protect you up to your two million dollar limit.”
“You’re it, Betty. I rise or fall with you. I do well financially, relatively speaking, but in these days of declining physician income and increasing expenses there’s no way I could afford to hire my own attorney without mortgaging my house and my children’s college education.”
“I know Cliff, but I’m duty bound to give you that advice.”
“I understand.”
“Okay. I’d like to get down to some medical details. In the fifteen years that I’ve been doing this kind of work, this is the first time I’ve been involved with a case of DIC. People tell me laughingly that I know more then most doctors, but you forced me to the medical books to read up on it. To say the least, it’s a complicated issue. What amazes me is that you showed what I interpret as real expertise in handling this extremely rare condition.”
“Thank you.”
“As I see it now, the case will hinge on what experts say about your treatment. I suspect I’ll need a hematologist. Do you agree?”
“Yes, as far as the details of the diagnosis and the basic physiology of the coagulation cascade is concerned, and the patho-physiology of DIC, and the use of heparin. If there is an academician who specializes in coagulation problems, that would be a good idea as well. I would also think that an experienced general surgeon would be important to have