Malice Page #4

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Tracy was pregnant. Of four weeks.

- Tracy is pregnant?

- No Andy.

The fetus aborted.

She sustained a lot of trauma.

There was nothing that could be done.

- I'm sorry.

- Yeah.

Vascular clamp.

Dr. Hill, I think this might be a mistake.

How do you know it's not still viable?

This is the wife of a friend, Matthew.

I'm not taking any chances. Scalpel.

You could be taking out a viable ovary.

It's necrotic. Scalpel.

Without the histology,

you can't be sure.

I'm sure.

Tanya, give me the scalpel.

Jed.

- What you got there, George?

- It's from pathology.

The Histology report?

We took out a healthy ovary.

Only the surface was necrotic.

Jed, take this.

Look at it.

Then burn it.

That's a nice gesture, George. Really.

The technician owes me a favor.

Lab won't be a problem.

It'll be a problem for me.

This hospital took out a healthy ovary.

I took out the ovary. No one else.

It was a judgment call

and I stand by it.

- Are you gonna be all right?

- I'll be fine.

I didn't do anything wrong.

I figured you probably hadn't

eaten anything in a while.

We should talk later, okay?

Well, Andy, I wanted to have

a word with Tracy.

Maybe later, okay? Jed...

Hello, Mrs. Safian.

You gave us quite a scare.

Did I?

Tracy, I know you've been told

all about what's happened.

Yes.

I don't know if there's any point in

telling you how sorry I am.

I spoke with a lawyer this morning.

I want to make sure you don't

do this to someone else.

There'll be some depositions

in about a week.

I think we can bring them down from

the 30 million in a settlement.

Let's not dick each other around here.

30 million, 25 million,

what difference does it make?

You know anything

over 10 million dollars

and I can't get insurance in this

or any other state.

- I say we go to a jury.

- I can't recommend that.

Why not?

Let me tell you what a jury sees.

A jury sees a beautiful young woman

married to a mild-mannered teacher.

They buy an old house and dream of

filling it up with children.

Now that is a Norman Rockwell painting

and you have ripped it to shreds

with your scalpel.

You are my lawyer. Am I right here?

It's not my job

to hold your hand, doctor.

It's not your job

to be an a**hole either, counselor,

but that doesn't seem

to be stopping here.

Maybe if we all calm down.

We could bring in a private investigator,

dig up something on her background.

Lester, she volunteered five days a week

in a children's ward.

And baked cookies for the staff.

Looks like you picked the

wrong patient to screw up on, doctor.

I didn't pick her, counselor.

Physicians don't get to choose.

I'll need an 'expert.

Who do you want to call?

- What do you mean?

- An expert. Someone to make a statement.

A statement saying what?

A statement saying that

you are as good as you think you are.

Call Dr. Martin Kessler.

Harvard Medical School.

Is that it, Miss?

Yes.

- How will I get in touch with you?

- You won't.

I don't want you to.

Tracy, why won't you let me help you

get through this?

This isn't a phase, Andy.

I can't have children. Ever.

He thought you were going to die.

Right about now he's wishing I did.

Tracy, I love you.

He took my insides out,

and you gave him permission.

Goodbye, Andy.

Dr. Kessler, would you describe

your history and relationship to Dr. Hill?

Dr. Hill was a student of mine

at medical school.

Upon graduation I asked him

to serve his residency

under my direction at Mass General.

And when he finished the residency,

I asked him to join our surgical staff.

Dr. Kessler, how long have you been

teaching at Harvard Medical school?

Twenty-one years.

How long have you been

chief of staff at Mass General?

Fourteen years.

So you've been in a position to work with

thousands of young doctors. Am I correct?

Yes.

I might add that the doctors I've had

the pleasure to teach and work with

are among the very best in the world.

And how would Dr. Hill rank in this group

that are among the very best in the world?

- There's no one any better.

- Thank you.

Mr. Riley.

Dr. Kessler, your faith in Dr. Hill's

surgical talent is obvious.

And completely deserved.

Dr. Kessler, seven months ago

the position of Chief of Surgery

became available on Mass General.

Did Jed Hill seek this position?

Yes, he did.

- Did you give the position to Jed?

- Excuse me, my client's name is Dr. Hill.

Forgive me,

did you award the position to Dr. Hill?

- No.

- Why not?

Well, he was certainly qualified...

But you didn't give him the job.

There were many other candidates.

- Surgeons more qualified?

- This isn't a trial, Mr. Riley.

Dr. Kessler, during Dr. Hill's

residency in Mass General

you wrote several quarterly evaluations.

Evaluations to be read and reviewed

by hospital administrators,

department heads.

Yes.

I'm looking at one right now

dated June 15th, 1982,

and bearing your signature.

It's coming around.

I'd like to read from page three,

paragraph four.

"While Jed Hill consistently remains

the most skilled

"and the brightest of our residents,

"we should not ignore what I and several

of his colleagues observed

"to be an indulgence

of the 'God complex'."

"God complex." That's not a typo, was it?

It says "God complex."

That was written a decade ago.

What's a God complex?

How did you get this information?

This was privileged information.

Dr. Kessler, what's a God complex?

It's a term that has no clinical meaning

at all. Doctors throw it around...

Sir, with all due respect,

but knock it off.

What did you mean in this evaluation

when you said Dr. Hill had a God complex?

The power to heal can be

an enormous thing, an enormous thing.

To save a life, to get blood flowing

into cells and vital organs.

If a person can do that, and if one

can do it as exceptionally as Dr. Hill,

it's not uncommon for a person like that

to begin to believe that he can do anything.

The power to heal can be like a drug.

"Like a drug", you're saying?

Would it be uncommon for a person with a

God complex to reject the advice of others?

No.

Would it be uncommon for such a person

to proceed on a course

that others might reject if only

out of a sense of a God like power?

I think now you're vastly overstating.

- Is that why you didn't give Dr. Hill the job?

- There were a number of other factors.

Is that why you removed a healthy ovary

without any scientific diagnosis?

Don't you address my client, Mr. Riley.

Do you have a God complex?

This is not acceptable.

- No, no. Let him address me.

- Jed.

No, no. It's about time.

I got to give some answers here.

Stop typing. This is off the record.

The question is,

do I have a God complex?

Dr. Kessler says yes.

Which makes me wonder

if this lawyer has any idea

as to the kind of grades

one has to receive in college

to be accepted at a top medical school.

If you have the vaguest clue

as to how talented someone has to be

to lead a surgical team.

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