Trauma by Daniel Palmer Read Free Book Online

on record here and say a few words,” Julie said.
    With a nod Knox gave his consent, and Julie spoke.
    â€œI have worked with Carrie Bryant since the start of her residency, when her responsibilities were limited to doing mostly scut work at all hours of the day. Carrie, more than anyone, took the extra time to get to know her patients and families. I understand that she had been up all night operating on a complicated case. I spoke personally with Beth Stillwell’s sister, Amanda, who praised Carrie’s kindness and compassion. I’ve personally seen Dr. Metcalf tear apart residents for any delays that derailed his schedule, so I’m sure that played a role in Carrie rushing to get the OR set up right. Carrie made a terrible mistake. There’s no denying that fact, but she’s not the only culpable party.”
    Dr. Metcalf made daggers with his eyes.
    â€œI refuse to be intimidated by any doctor on staff, regardless of their stature here,” Julie continued. “In my opinion, I’m tired of the attending physicians using the hospital like a personal garage whenever a physician friend wanted a favor. Look, I sincerely appreciate our close relationship with White Memorial and the excellent doctors from there who otherwise wouldn’t be in a position to care for our city’s less fortunate. But perhaps if Dr. Metcalf deigned to venture up to 4C to see his patient before operating, or God forbid at least look at the MRI prior, none of this would have happened.”
    A heavy silence ensued, and Carrie felt somewhat vindicated. Better procedures for double-checking should have been in place, and Carrie believed protocols would change as a result.
    â€œLook, there’s really no issue here,” Carla Mason interjected.
    As chief counsel for Community, Carla was directly responsible for malpractice cases like this one. Unfortunately, they seemed to be happening with greater and greater frequency. The majority of these cases were meritless, but the hospital continued to cough up millions in legal fees defending them, not to mention countless hours of deposition, fact-finding, and copying records. The impact on productivity was now just a cost of doing business. For everyone involved, the expense of a lengthy trial was more than a matter of money; it was years of legal wrangling in terms of time, reputation, and emotional well-being. Carla tried to avoid the courtroom whenever possible, even for the most meritless claims—a strategy Knox Singer fully endorsed.
    â€œThe family will sue and the hospital will settle,” Carla said. “And the sooner this is done, the better. The last thing BCH and Chambers University need is something like this getting out to the press and the public.”
    â€œCarla and I are meeting with the Dixons at eleven,” said Emily Forrester, the lawyer for White Memorial. “We will advise them to seek counsel immediately. Knox, I take it you’d agree to our informing the family that the hospital and university will offer a very generous settlement, and will assume responsibility for any upcoming and future medical care that the Dixons might require. I’ve already discussed this with Brandon, who concurs.”
    Brandon Olyfson nodded. As CEO of White Memorial Hospital, he wanted out of this meeting, and quick. Olyfson thought of BCH as nothing more than a cesspool. Three-quarters of the patients were drunks or drugged out. No one had insurance. He could give a crap about Leon Dixon, Carrie believed. All that mattered to Olyfson was that Dr. Metcalf, his choice for the next chief of neurosurgery, was now a potential plague on the reputation of White Memorial Hospital.
    â€œSo, this Dixon guy. I mean, he was probably going to have problems regardless of any surgery, right?” Olyfson asked.
    Dr. Metcalf became indignant. “Brandon, Mr. Dixon has a left temporal lobe tumor, most likely an astrocytoma. But of course, we