Quincy M.E. (1976–1983): Season 4, Episode 18 - Physician, Heal Thyself - full transcript
I'm going to see to it that your
problem doesn't hurt anyone else again.
- What problem?
- You're holding
it in your hand.
Is it true that you're
ignoring the death
of a girl who died in
there from an abortion?
My daughter's dead, and all
you can tell me to do it forget it?
But if you ignore this,
and you're proven wrong,
won't you be risking everything?
You think I can just walk up to him
and accuse him of being a drunk?
We would never pull a doctor's
license on the basis of one case.
What do we have to do?
Hang around until
he bags the limit?
Gentlemen, you
are about to enter
the most fascinating
sphere of police work,
the world of forensic medicine.
- I've got to
see Doctor Shafer.
- Are you a patient of his?
Yes, Julie Reed. Please,
I've got to see the doctor.
I'm sorry, but Doctor
Shafer isn't here today.
Oh, where is he?
- I can call his office.
- I already did that.
I've been trying to reach
him, but I can't find him.
- It's all right,
it's all right...
- I don't know where he is.
I'll get you another
doctor. Hold on.
Who do we got here?
She's pale, diabetic, pulse
is erratic, B.P. is 70 over 35.
She's bleeding.
Give her two I.V.'s, one
in each arm going. C'mon.
Let's give her radius oxygen.
All right, get type and cross-section
and two units of whole blood.
She's got a bad
uterine hemorrhage.
- Whose patient is she?
- Doctor Shafer's.
Get an O.R. room ready.
B-fib.
Paddles!
Clear.
Astin should be happy.
I'm all caught up, right?
- Wrong.
- What do you mean wrong?
There's one more.
She just came in.
Who is she?
Her name is Julie
Reed. Aged seventeen.
Seventeen... What
happened to her?
She died at the Bennett Clinic
of post-operative complications,
and her family
requested an autopsy.
- It's a private case?
- Yeah.
Astin's having it done anyway.
And the family's paying for it.
What was the cause of death?
She died of complications
following an abortion
and her mother
requested an autopsy.
Seventeen years
old. I can't blame her.
Or she's looking to
sue for malpractice.
Hey, be careful, Sam.
You're turning into
a full-fledged cynic.
- She had it done
at the clinic, huh?
- Uh-huh.
How can this happen now
when abortions are supposed
to be so safe and clean?
From the size of the corpus luteum
and the dimensions of the uterus,
she looks like she was further
along than I would have thought.
Then her pregnancy was past
the safe limit for an abortion?
Could have been.
We'd better call the
clinic's pathologist later
and find out exactly how
far the pregnancy had gone.
Okay.
The fallopian tubes are intact
and the uterine cavity
is well evacuated.
It's really clean. There's
no residual placenta.
Sounds like a normal
procedure so far.
Yep. Wait a minute.
The cervix was not adequately
dilated before the abortion.
Look at those contusions.
It looks like he
was in a hurry, Sam.
They indicate a much
rougher than normal curettage.
What was he doing to her?
We'd better do some transverse sections.
Let me have the scalpel, will you?
Incising the endocervical wall.
There are several false
intramural passages.
You mean where the
instrument strayed?
Yeah, several times. Here,
see one here and one here.
Did any of them
perforate the uterus?
No, no, but what
might have happened
is a trauma related thrombosis
of the oarametirial veins.
Blood clot.
Blood clot.
Sam, I want you to run a
series of microscopic sections
and rush them through.
You're talking about negligence?
You're darn right.
We'll know better
when we see the slides.
Here are the micros, Quince.
The lab guys think they broke
the record getting them done.
- Good.
- I contacted the pathologist,
and he said the pregnancy
had gone to seventeen weeks.
- Seventeen weeks!
- Mmm-hmm.
That's at least four weeks more
than what most doctors
consider a safe limit.
That could have
caused the complications.
If the term of pregnancy
was misdiagnosed,
it wouldn't help matters.
Let's see the slides.
What do you mean by telling
the lab to drop everything else
and push your work through?
Do you know how long I've been
waiting for the Baedeker-Hoffman results?
Yeah, about two
weeks, that's how long.
What's a few more hours?
Well, what are you
in such a hurry for?
I found a complication
in the Julie Reed case.
Quincy, that's a private
case. It does not take priority.
I mean, isn't it just routine?
- No, we've found
something unusual.
- Oh, boy.
I should know if anybody
would, you would.
There are signs of inflammation
around the false passages,
and clotting in the
parametrial veins of the uterus.
Take a look.
That's what caused the
pulmonary embolism that killed her.
A shower of clots broke off
and traveled to the
arteries of her lungs.
Then you do think
it's negligence?
Maybe. It's more
suggestive than conclusive.
That's why I want
to find out more.
- More?
- Yeah...
Quincy, you have to be
more efficient in this case.
Now, I told that girl's
mother there was a fixed fee.
You've exceeded
that. Oh, forget it.
I'm going to make this
an official investigation.
Oh, of course, I
should have known.
We are going to
bear the expense.
What do you want
me to do, forget it?
Pretend we never saw it,
pretend it didn't happen?
If this Shafer is responsible, don't
you think we ought to stop him?
I love the way you hand me a
decision without any choice to make.
Spend, spend, spend.
All right, work on the case.
Beneath that bureaucratic
pragmatic exterior of yours,
you do believe in the
same things we do.
I suppose that's a compliment?
It's all I've got in
stock. See you later.
What are you smiling at?
Don't you have work to do?
Yes, it was a shame
about Julie Reed.
May I offer you something?
No, thank you.
- Seltzer?
- No, thanks.
I've got a waiting
room full of people.
How can I help you?
You can tell me why
you performed an abortion
on a girl who was
pregnant seventeen weeks.
Seventeen weeks?
According to her history and
what she said was her
last menstrual period,
it shouldn't have been
more than fourteen weeks.
- Well,
didn't you check it out?
- Of course I did.
I used the standard methods
any obstetrician would.
The size of the uterus,
I performed a pelvic.
Well, did you determine the
cranial diameter of the fetus?
Doctor Quincy, when you've
seen as many patients as I have,
you can almost
tell it at a glance.
Pigmentation, for example.
Well, obviously your glance
was off by a few weeks this time.
The girl lied to me.
You see, I don't have the luxury of
making as precise an examination
after death as you
can, Doctor Quincy.
But whether it was fourteen
weeks or seventeen weeks,
I was still within the
legal statutes of this state.
Is that what you're concerned
with? Your legal status?
Most doctors are leery of performing
a curette abortion after twelve weeks.
They have their
policies. I have mine.
We also found
contusions and abrasions
and several false
passages in the uterine wall.
You were very
rough on that girl.
It was a more difficult
procedure than anticipated,
but there was nothing excessive.
You didn't find any
perforation, did you?
No.
But we found a low-grade infection
and clotting in the pelvic veins
which caused the
pulmonary embolism.
Those are relatively
rare complications
that could have developed in any
abortion at any time, in any patient.
But they're more likely to happen to
girls who are closer to the legal limits,
especially if their term
had been misdiagnosed.
Doctor Quincy.
If you're trying to accuse me
of negligence or malpractice,
that's the weakest
case I have ever heard.
There are dentists who
do more damage than that.
But they don't lose their
patients in the process.
Now wait!
If you think I was in any way
responsible for the death of that girl,
I challenge you to prove it.
That case may have
approached the borderline,
but it definitely
didn't cross it.
Can you deny that?
No, not absolutely.
You'll excuse me.
I have patients waiting.
I can't believe it happened.
Out of the blue, I get this phone
call telling me my daughter's dead.
I asked if she'd
been in an accident,
but they said no, it was
complications from an abortion.
An abortion!
Excuse me, Mrs. Reed,
here's Doctor Quincy
who did the examination
on your daughter.
Doctor Quincy, Mrs. Reed,
who ordered the post-mortem.
I'm very sorry.
Didn't you know your daughter
was having an abortion?
I should say not. I
don't believe in them,
and neither did Julie.
That boyfriend of hers
must have talked her into it.
Those murderers.
We didn't find
anything conclusive.
There were abnormalities,
but nothing that would clearly
indicate that anyone was at fault.
So what am I supposed to do?
Forget I ever had a daughter?
Oh no, that doctor is going
to pay for what he's done.
Mrs. Reed, if Doctor Quincy
found any proof of negligence,
he'd be the first one to
advise you to see an attorney.
I'd personally do everything
I could to help you.
But you can't win a
malpractice from what we found.
Believe me.
Why should I believe you?
My daughter's dead, and all
you can tell me to do it forget it?
Well, you don't have to
go back to an empty house
and an empty life.
I'm not gonna let them get
away with this, do you hear me?
- Mrs. Reed.
- Please,
Quincy, Quincy, let her go.
There's nothing you
can say to her now.
She'll just have to get over it.
It'll take time.
Lots of time.
Come in. Yeah, Pete?
Doctor Quincy, there's
someone out here to see you.
Send him in.
What can I do for you?
Are you the doctor
that looked at Julie?
Yes, I am. Who are you?
I'm Jeff Price. I
was the father.
I talked her into
having the abortion.
Sit down, please, sit down.
Why did she wait so long?
Well, her mother insisted
that she have the baby.
Well, Julie, she went back and
forth trying to make her mind up.
And she finally listened to me.
It's all my fault, doctor.
No, no.
Now you and Julie were
responsible for the abortion.
But you are certainly not
responsible for her death.
But I didn't say anything.
About what?
I was very worried when
she went to have the abortion.
- What do you mean?
- I went with
her to the clinic.
I wanted to be with
her. To hold her hand.
To see her through all this.
I met the doctor beforehand,
and I was sure there was
something wrong with him.
Something wrong with him?
He didn't seem to be all there.
He didn't listen to Julie.
And then I noticed his hands.
They were trembling.
I should have spoken up
and I should have said
something right there and then,
but I didn't. I didn't!
What do you think
was wrong with him?
I think he was drunk.
My daughter died in there,
and they're covering it up.
Nobody's doing
anything about it.
There's the coroner
who's helping them.
Why don't you ask Doctor
Quincy what he's doing?
Doctor Quincy...
Is it true that you're
ignoring the death
of a girl who died there from
an abortion, Doctor Quincy?
No, we're investigating it very
thoroughly. That's why I'm here.
Doctor, can you tell
us what happened
or who was responsible
for the girl's death?
It would be inappropriate for me
to make any comment at this time
since I don't have
enough information.
I'm sorry.
Stop legalized murder!
If it was a gall bladder
operation in a hospital,
nobody would pay any attention.
But because we do abortions
and there is one death in thousands,
they're out in force,
even if it was unavoidable.
Well, we can't be too sure
about that, Doctor Blair.
That's why I came to see you.
Well, you sound serious.
Surely you're not saying
that we're at fault, are you?
Well, there are definite signs
that Doctor Shafer used a
rough technique on Julie Reed.
It could have contributed
directly to the embolism.
Well, I can understand
that. The girl had lied to him.
The fetus was more fully
evolved than he expected.
But a man with Doctor
Shafer's experience
should have been
able to take care of it.
Is it possible that,
well, that his drinking is
interfering with his work?
What?
How can you say such
a thing? Have you proof?
If I had any proof,
I wouldn't be here.
I'd be at the Board of
Medical Quality Assurance
having his license pulled.
Then how can you
make such an accusation?
I'm not making any accusations.
I'm trying to find
out what happened
so I can prevent it from
ever happening again.
I talked to Julie
Reed's boyfriend,
and he thinks that
Doctor Shafer was drunk
when he performed the abortion.
And that could answer a
lot of the things that I found.
Then why didn't he say anything?
Why didn't he try to
stop Doctor Shafer?
Oh, c'mon, how can a kid
stop a doctor from operating?
Besides, that's
your job, not his.
Well, I...
Frankly, Doctor Quincy,
I don't know what he saw
or how expert he is.
But his opinion isn't much.
And if Doctor Shafer
had such a problem,
I'd certainly know about it.
I'm not saying that he's staggering
drunk through the corridors.
But he's a doctor. If
he's the least bit dull,
it could affect his work
without being too obvious.
I just can't believe it.
Do you know what you're saying?
Doctor Richard
Shafer has been doing
outstanding OB/GYN work
in this city for twenty years.
You know how many
babies he's delivered?
You know how many operations
he's completed successfully?
I know he can do them by
rote if nothing goes wrong.
Along comes a Julie Reed,
there are complications.
If he's the least bit tipsy, he
may not be able to handle it.
You're putting me in
a very difficult position.
There are a lot of
hospitals in this city
who offer the same
service that we do.
But you know how few of them
are administered by women?
I have worked very hard to
put this organization together.
There are a lot of
critical eyes watching us,
waiting for us to
make a mistake.
I can't risk this entire clinic
on some shakey allegations.
But if you ignore this,
and you're proven wrong,
won't you be risking everything?
Can't you check it out?
All right. I'll... I'll
speak to the staff
and we'll monitor
Doctor Shafer for a while.
And wait for another Julie Reed?
Can't you at least talk to him?
You think I can just walk up to him
and accuse him of being a drunk?
Without any substantiation?
Doctor Quincy, this
isn't a large hospital
or a wealthy private clinic.
We rely on public funding,
and the donated services
of doctors like Doctor Shafer
and I'm very proud to
have him on our staff.
Maybe you should be less
impressed with what he's done
and more concerned
with what he's doing.
Nurse...
Yes? Can I help you?
I'm Doctor Quincy. I'm
with the coroner's office.
I'd like to talk to you
about Julie Reed.
Oh, that poor girl. That
was a terrible shame.
Could you tell me who assisted
Doctor Shafer in the abortion?
The senior resident,
Doctor Tompkins.
He was the one
who tried to save her.
Where could I find him?
Well, right now he's
just gone to lunch.
Why don't you try the cafeteria?
- Thank you. Is that on the left?
- Yes.
That's good.
How's your kid
doing? He doing okay?
Still got the bandages on?
- Doctor Tompkins?
- Yes?
I'm Doctor Quincy. I'm
with the coroner's office.
Could I talk to you for
a couple of minutes?
Sure.
I understand you're
the senior resident here.
- Yeah.
- They must keep
you pretty busy.
Oh, about eighty to a
hundred hours a week.
But I'm sure you know
that's par for the course.
- Good training.
- Yeah.
You assisted Doctor Shafer
on the Julie Reed
abortion, didn't you?
Yes.
I have some questions
about her death
you might be able
to answer for me.
What do you mean?
The possibility that there was
negligence due to his drinking.
Why don't you
talk to Doctor Blair?
She's the head of the clinic.
I already have, and doesn't
know anything about it.
I figured since you
were right there...
- What do you
want me to tell you?
- What really happened.
I don't think it's my place to
comment on another doctor's work.
Well, since the patient died,
I thought you might be
willing to talk about it.
Well, I'm not.
It'll be a lot tougher telling
it at the coroner's inquest.
Okay.
But this is just
between you and me.
Shafer does have
a drinking problem.
Most of the time
he's really great.
He's better half-crocked than
most doctors are when they're sober.
But within the last year,
he's begun to deteriorate.
He's had a couple other near
misses that we've covered for him.
How does he get away with it?
Don't the other doctors
or nurses notice?
Of course, but nobody's
willing to make an issue of it.
Why not?
Because it's too
imperfect a profession
to start pointing
fingers at each other.
What about you? You
willing to point a finger?
No, I don't want
to get involved.
I said this was between us.
Between us!
If a tailor made you
a suit that was lousy,
you'd see that the whole
world boycotted him.
The worst he could do is make
you a pair of pants that are too long.
But someone who can
hurt people, can maim them,
can kill them, that's
supposed to be between us?
What kind of a
brotherhood is that?
What kind of ethics are those?
It's not my
responsibility to stop him.
If I did what you're asking,
my career would be
over before it even started.
There are certain
bylaws we have to follow
in order to join the club.
Then those laws should be
changed or maybe the club torn down.
And the excellent
doctors with it?
You don't throw out the baby
with the bath water, do you?
That's just the way things are.
You know, you're kind of old
to have such young feelings,
aren't you?
You're kind of young
to have such old ones.
What do you mean you
can't do anything about it?
This is the Board of Medical
Quality Assurance, isn't it?
I mean, if you can't do anything
about an incompetent doctor,
how do you justify
your existence?
We can't bring a
physician up on charges
every time there's a complaint.
There wouldn't be
anyone left to practice.
These are very serious
accusations, Doctor Quincy.
We need proof.
What am I going to have
to do to convince you?
Bring us some absolute,
concrete evidence of negligence
or substandard medical practice.
I could show you
the body of a woman
with a curettage so rough
that it could have led
to the complications
that caused her death.
The operative words
there are "could have."
Now that's your
opinion, Doctor Quincy.
That is not real concrete
proof of malpractice.
So you're not even
going to investigate him?
There wouldn't be any point.
We would have to establish a
pattern of this type of practice.
We would never pull a doctor's
license on the basis of one case.
You mean one
death is not enough?
What do we have to do?
Hang around until
he bags the limit?
Wait a minute!
You're a doctor,
you should know better
than to say things like that.
We can't expect
doctors to be infallible.
We have to give them
the benefit of a doubt.
Do you know what
you're asking us to do?
Do you really want us to
take away this man's livelihood
and ruin his career?
If that's the only way
you can stop him, yes!
He was drunk when he
performed that abortion!
Oh, do you know that for a fact?
His colleague told me so.
And will he testify?
No, he won't testify.
Then I'm sorry, Doctor Quincy,
but we are just not
prepared to cope with it.
Well, maybe if you
investigated cases like this,
and assured the doctors
that you would back them up,
they might talk.
It's Catch-22.
They don't talk because they
don't believe we'll back them up,
and we can't back them
up because they don't talk.
Terrific day. Hey, take
care of that, will ya.
I just don't know
how you did it.
Yeah, you had four
martinis and six wines
and you still beat us.
That's because I
know how to handle it.
I know my limits.
George, drinks all around.
What limits?
I'm surprised you
could even find the tee.
Honey... Listen, I
could beat you guys
without even
trying to find the tee.
- Hi, love.
- Hi, darling.
- Got your shopping done?
- Yes.
C'mon, Ron, we
gotta hit the showers.
No, no, no, c'mon,
listen, I just ordered drinks.
- Sit down.
- All right.
Hi, how are you,
Charlie? Hi, Ed.
- How are you today?
- Fine.
Listen, I feel great.
You know something, I
almost made a hole in one.
You did? That's great.
- I couldn't believe it.
- Really?
Tony, a tonic and water
for the most beautiful girl
in the world.
- You sure you need another?
- Oh, c'mon.
I'm not working today.
You don't have to
keep watch over me.
Doctor Shafer?
Well, Doctor Quincy.
You come here to see how
the other half in
private practice lives?
Dear, this is Doctor Quincy.
He's the coroner who's
so interested in my work.
Mrs. Shafer. This
is Charlie and Ed...
- Ed, Charlie...
- Doctor...
May I talk to you alone
for a few minutes outside?
Hey, uh, we'll see you, Ron.
- No, no, c'mon, c'mon.
- No, we've got to run, later.
Okay, I'll see you later.
Well now, Doctor Quincy,
tell me, are you planning
to write my biography?
I mean, you've been talking to
Doctor Blair and Doctor Tompkins,
and now with me again?
I thought we had the
whole thing settled?
I'm afraid not.
- Would you like
something to drink?
- No, thank you.
No objection if I do, is there?
I mean, there's no one in the
next room waiting to see me.
Would it make any
difference if you were working?
- What is that
supposed to mean?
- Ron...
I'd rather talk to
you alone outside.
Okay.
Julie Reed's boyfriend
thinks you were drunk
when you performed
that abortion on her.
I do not go to work drunk.
Look. Why do you
keep going around
trying to impugn my reputation?
Now let's get the
record straight.
I may have a drink,
maybe two, with lunch,
but I'm able to handle it.
It doesn't mean that I am
finished for the
rest of the day.
I don't believe that.
I'm going to see to it that your
problem doesn't hurt anyone else again.
- What problem?
- You're holding
it in your hand.
You need help.
And who are you to judge?
It's none of your business.
When Julie Reed came to my
table, it became my business.
Why do you keep trying
to blame me for that?
Because you were in no
condition to perform that abortion.
You were drunk.
- You're a liar!
- Ron...
- Stay out of this!
- Ron!
Elizabeth.
I'm sorry, dear, forgive me,
please, I never meant to hurt you.
There you are, Quincy, would
you come with me, please?
Have you seen this?
Yeah, the Rams
lost again yesterday.
I don't mean the
sports page. I mean that.
"Abortion death controversy."
Why is it whenever I
see your name in print,
even before I read the article,
I break out into a cold sweat?
It didn't make the front page.
Well, thank God
for small blessings.
I suppose tomorrow
I'll see a story
about the flap at the Mountainview
Country Club over this.
You heard about that one?
Well, Shafer's
attorney called me.
He said you instigated a fight.
He's talking a lawsuit
for harassment,
abusing your authority.
I didn't harass him!
The guy was too drunk
to listen to the truth!
You know, your job is here
performing autopsies and not...
And I'm responsible
for those autopsies!
Yes? Well, in the knick of time.
Now, look, Quincy,
what I'm trying to say
is that I think you
need some help.
That's why I called
in Doctor Taylor.
He's a psychiatrist.
I don't need a psychiatrist!
Doctor Taylor treats
doctors who are disabled
because of alcohol problems
or drug problems, or both.
"Disabled"? That's
some euphemism.
- Stewart, how are you?
- Fine, Bob.
Glad you could come.
This is Doctor Quincy.
Hello. I've heard
a lot about you.
Nice to meet you.
Bob told me a little
bit about your problem.
The problem seems to be
getting somebody to
admit there is a problem.
Yeah, that's half the battle.
How many of these
cases have you handled?
Well, I've seen a few.
But I think we have only
scratched the surface.
There must be twenty
thousand doctors out there
having problems
with drugs or alcohol.
Twenty thousand!
That's about ten percent
of our entire profession.
There aren't any exact
figures, it's just an estimate.
But I'd say there's half a
million patients under their care.
Well, what are you
guys doing about that?
Well, we're trying to set up
rehabilitation and treatment programs.
But it all takes time.
I mean, this is a new area.
We're just starting to
learn how to deal with it.
You know, I can understand
how some doctors get hooked,
but if anybody should
know better, we should.
Look, underneath the white
coats, we're all human beings.
And you know the kinds of
pressure that we work under.
A man could stand
there for twelve hours
in intensive open heart surgery.
Maybe he loses a
couple of patients
so he starts drinking
or he pops a few pills
to relieve the pressure.
But we're not talking about
some skid row indigents here.
We're talking about highly
trained, intelligent people.
It's no shame to
admit they need help.
Alcoholism is basically
a disease of denial,
no matter who the patient is.
The first impulse is to say,
"Oh, no, oh, no, not me."
The medical profession
is partly to blame too,
because they've
always labeled this
as a weakness that
needs punishment,
not as an illness
that needs a cure.
It's ironic that doctors never like
to think of themselves as patients.
Other doctors don't help
because of misguided ethics.
Look, it's not exactly that
simple, Doctor Quincy.
Suppose you had a
doctor that you admired
and he started having problems,
you'd want to help him.
You don't want to give him
any problems and ruin his career.
He's endangering
the lives of his patients!
I mean, surgery is risky enough
without having those kind of odds.
These people aren't going out
knocking off people left and right.
These men are
mostly good doctors.
Ninety-nine cases
out of a hundred
they can either
handle the situation
or they don't do surgery.
What about the hundredth when
they run across a guy like Shafer?
No, he shouldn't be allowed
to practice until he gets help.
What are you going to
do, condemn them all?
Look, people are complaining
already about the lack of doctors.
You're talking about
losing some more?
We're trying to conserve
skills here, not waste them.
How can you do that
with a guy like Shafer?
Try and get him to go
see a doctor voluntarily.
I tried to do that and
I failed, remember?
Maybe it needs a more
delicate touch than yours.
Oh, yeah? Like yours?
Look, we'll try to find
somebody that's close to him,
like a friend or a member
of the family to talk to him.
I guess it's worth a shot.
Lousy weather for tennis.
It's not going to let up.
Neither are you.
What are you doing here?
I have to talk to you,
it's very important.
I've got nothing to say to you.
Believe me, I want
to help your husband.
How?
By spreading lies about
him, and embarrassing us
in front of our friends?
Are they lies?
Of course they are.
Your husband's drinking
is none of my business.
That's right.
But the three girls he's
going to operate on Friday are.
I believe he's responsible
for the death of Julie Reed.
And if I don't protect
those three women,
then I won't be doing my job.
Can you prove he's responsible?
Not legally.
Don't you want to
help your husband?
He doesn't need any help.
Look, just because he
overdoes it now and then
that does not mean
he's an alcoholic.
He can handle it!
He can handle it?
You mean he knows
when he's had enough?
That's the cry of
every alcoholic!
I expected to hear it
from him, but not from you.
Well, your husband doesn't
know when he's had enough.
And you're the only
one that can get him
to give up those procedures.
- Give up the procedures?
- Yeah...
But that's just like
saying he can't handle it!
That would destroy him!
I'm not going to do that to him.
I've known that man
for twenty five years and
he's the most dedicated doctor,
the finest man I've ever known.
He's going through some
rough times right now...
But he's going to pull
out of it, I know that.
He's going to pull out of it,
if you'll just get off his back.
What he needs
right now is support,
and I'm going to give it to him.
- Hi, Irv, how you doing?
- Hi, Doctor Quincy.
How are things
on the third floor?
To tell you the truth,
I don't know, Irv.
I haven't been down
there that often lately.
I need some
information right away.
Well, what is it?
Have you had any death certificates
signed by a Doctor Ron Shafer
within the past three years?
Shafer. Shafer.
There's a Lionel Shafer,
and a Ron Shafer.
Yeah, Ron.
Yeah. I think
there are a couple.
How can you remember
with all these files?
My mind's like a steel trap.
You remember the Adams case?
They finally got the husband
and pow, now he should
have never married her.
Let's see...
Saul. Segetti. Shafer.
Yup, two in the
last three years.
Hi, Quincy. What you got there?
Death certificates from
two of Shafer's patients.
Anything unusual?
This one died from
cervical cancer.
He couldn't have been
responsible for that.
This one's a little
more suspicious.
This infant was stillborn
due to intrauterine anoxia.
It does sound more suspicious.
I could find out more if I
could examine the body.
- How long ago was the death?
- Eight months.
- And there wasn't any autopsy?
- No.
Shafer just signed the death
certificate and let it go at that.
In that case, you'll have to
get permission of the family
or a court order
for an exhumation.
I hate to do it but I'm
gonna start with the family.
I knew there was
something wrong.
I knew my baby
shouldn't have died.
Nobody would listen to me.
According to the death
certificate signed by Doctor Shafer,
the baby died prior to birth.
That isn't true.
He was alive and healthy
when I went into labor.
I could feel him.
He was in the breech position
so it was a difficult birth.
They put me to sleep,
and when I woke up they told me
that my baby was born dead.
- Was there any
further explanation?
- No, no.
I tried to ask the
anesthesiologist about it.
He'd been so friendly before.
Afterwards he avoided me.
I knew it.
I knew something was wrong.
That's what I'm trying
to prove, Mrs. Burrows.
But I need your help.
Hi, babe. What's up?
Oh, Doctor Quincy, this
is my husband, Frank.
How do you do.
Frank, Doctor Quincy
is a medical examiner.
He's here to talk about Jamie.
What good is that?
It is over and it is done with.
We're finally getting over it.
Doctor Quincy, why do you
want to bring back all the pain
and heartbreak for?
I'm sorry, I don't
want to hurt you.
I just want to make sure
that nobody else gets hurt.
Listen, my wife and I have
been sick about this for months.
When our baby died, I
couldn't sleep at night.
I lay awake wondering
what he might have been like.
But nothing is going
to bring him back,
and I can finally sleep again
and I don't want either of
us upset about it anymore!
I need permission to exhume
the body so I can do an autopsy.
- You mean on the baby?
- Yes.
No!
I'm telling you, no!
I don't want to have
anything to do with it.
We are going to try
and have another baby.
We want to try and
forget! Don't you under...
Please, just leave us alone.
We just want to be left alone.
I'm sorry. I can't go
against my husband.
Why is everybody
giving me the run-around?
I can't get a straight answer.
What is going on around here?
Hey, Quincy, look at
me. I'm an underling.
Yeah, sure, you're an underling.
Will you please sit
down, take it easy?
What can I do for you?
I would like a court
order to exhume a body.
- Okay.
- Is it a big deal?
It's no big deal.
- Then give it to me.
- Okay.
It's the end of the day
and I'll take care of it
first thing in the
morning. That's all.
No big deal. Give me
the information, Quincy.
The name of the
decedent is Jamie Burrows.
You're always screaming at me.
He died in childbirth
eight months ago
at the Bennett Clinic.
Now the doctor who...
- Now wait, hold... Hold on a second.
- What's the matter?
- Oh brother!
- What's the matter?
Does this have anything to do
with that abortion case, Quincy?
Yeah, it's the same
doctor involved.
Then I'm not involved anymore.
I can't handle it.
That's it, that's it.
- Why not?
- Because of this.
Once case has nothing
to do with the other.
Not case, not case.
This word right here.
Abortion. Abortion, you see it?
- Yeah.
- It's too big
a political potato
for us to even get involved in.
Who's asking you
to get involved?
Just give me a court
order to exhume a body.
- I don't want you involved.
- Just exhume a body, right?
That's right. Yeah.
Then you know what comes?
The reporters come here.
Then they ask my opinion.
I offend some and
then I make some smile.
You know who I don't make smile?
My boss! Forget about it!
Hey, wait a minute.
Since when does
the County Counsel's
office run a popularity poll?
Always, Quincy, always.
That's the way they work.
This is an election year.
The Supreme Court has
decreed that abortions are legal.
What does the local election
have to do with the Supreme Court?
Unfortunately, people don't
vote the way we'd like them to.
Are you saying you're
not going to help me?
I can't.
Even if I wanted to, I
can't. My boss won't let me.
Quincy, I've got an idea.
Get permission
from the next-of-kin.
Then you won't
need a court order.
Sure and get you
off the hook, right?
I already saw them,
they turned me down.
Well, I guess you're up a
creek without a paddle, Quincy.
That's it?
Come see us right after November.
Right after November, we'll talk.
November?
Two days from now
it will be too late.
- Politics.
- Yeah.
No wonder it's a dirty word.
Are you here to see me
about Doctor Shafer again?
Yeah. I'm here about
another one of his patients.
He delivered a stillborn
baby about eight months ago.
- You know anything about it?
- Which case was it?
The family's name was
Burrows. It was their first child.
Now he put down intrauterine
anoxia as the cause of death.
I don't think that baby
did die before birth.
- What makes you so sure?
- I spoke to the mother.
It was an uneventful pregnancy.
The baby was alive
when she went into labor.
She felt movement.
So maybe, just maybe,
Shafer did something wrong
and I was wondering if you
assisted him in that delivery?
- No.
- Are you sure?
- Will Doctor
Tompkins please...
- Yeah. Excuse me.
Call twenty-three?
Doctor Tompkins,
call twenty-three.
This is Doctor Tompkins.
- Emergency with
the Jones case.
- Did you call Doctor Shafer?
- We can't find him.
- I'll be right there.
Excuse me, I have
to get to surgery.
- What happened?
- We saved her.
One of the arteries was
severed a couple of days ago.
There was some slow
bleeding, and it finally ruptured.
That's what happened.
Did Shafer ignore
that in surgery?
Now have you seen enough to
do something about Doctor Shafer?
Do you know what would happen
if I made a complaint against him?
He's got a reputation and
twenty years experience.
I'm a senior resident.
I'll tell you what would happen.
Shafer would go back to his practice.
You'd go back to your
practice and I'd never have one.
How many more emergencies
like this do you have to see
before you make a
move against the guy?
Listen, my family
sacrificed their whole life
to make me a doctor
because they knew
how important it was to me.
When I was thirteen years
old, I was running errands
for the nearest hospital
after school for nothing.
My summer vacations
I spent as a volunteer.
I couldn't get enough of
it. I admired those doctors.
To me those doctors
were ten feet tall
and they had hands of gold.
Well, I'm a big boy
now, and I'm a doctor.
And I'm a doctor
who knows the score.
That's why I put my
idealism in my back pocket.
You are a good doctor.
You could be a fine one.
But not if you start
selling out now.
You do and you'll be
no better than Shafer.
What do you want me to do?
I'm almost there,
I'm almost finished,
and you want me
to risk everything?
Well, I'm not going to do it.
I'm not going to throw it away!
Listen, it's impossible.
Are you sure you've
done everything you can?
Yeah, but I'm not sure
we've done everything we can.
What do you mean?
Nobody can pull
strings the way you can.
Our only chance is to exhume
the baby and prove negligence.
Now couldn't you put a little pressure
on the County Counselor's office,
and get a court order?
Quincy, if you'd come to me
earlier, maybe. It takes time.
A court order is not
a one-step procedure.
Yeah, but you can
push it through. I know it.
Now if you got it right away,
Sam and I would
work around the clock.
We need the results by eight
o'clock tomorrow morning.
Why?
Because that's when he's
performing a Caesarian.
Now look, I know
we'll find something!
You really think that you would?
Would I ask you to
do this if I wasn't sure?
And Jackson wouldn't give you
a court order because of politics?
You know what he said?
"Come back in November."
That's how blatant he was.
Come back in November!
All right, Quincy, you've
put yourself on the line
for this department and
maybe it's time we joined you!
So Ken Jackson is
worried about politics.
Robin, get me Ken Jackson at
the County Counselor's office.
I can give him
something to worry about!
I've been saving my own little
political bomb for a rainy day.
- I think this is a rainy day!
- It's pouring!
Quincy, why don't you ever
make things simple for me?
- I don't want
your life to be dull.
- Dull?
Here it is.
Mr. Jackson on the line.
- You want to hear this one?
- Oh yeah.
Robin okay and put
this line on the speaker.
Ken...
Doctor Astin! How are you today?
Well, to tell you the truth,
Ken, I'm really rather upset.
I need a court order for an
exhumation in a case we're working on.
Uh, that wouldn't
happen to be the same
court order that Doctor Quincy
and I were discussing, would it?
Yes, Ken, as a
matter of fact, it would.
I see.
Well, you know,
to tell you the truth,
I don't think my boss really
would be interested in that.
Now, Ken. I feel
this is very important.
I'm afraid I'll have
to exercise my rights
as Chief Deputy Medical
Examiner and demand it!
I see.
Well, I'll tell you what.
Uh, heck, I could discuss it
with him but to tell you the truth,
I don't think he'll go for it.
Ken...
Thank you very much
for taking it up with him.
I mean, I know you're busy.
I know you're involved, Ken.
By the way, is there any
truth to that rumor I heard
about you guys and
the zoning change
put through by the
Board of Supervisors?
Excuse me. I have
something caught in my throat.
How did you hear about that?
Gee, I don't remember, Ken.
But of course, if you
really want to know,
I suppose I could ask around...
No, no. Heck, no,
that's not necessary. No.
Oh. Okay!
I promise you that I will get
into it in depth with my boss, sir.
Ken, I want you to thank the
county counselor very much
for his cooperation.
And Ken, because we feel
this is a life or death situation
if we could have that court
order in a couple of hours,
that would be fine.
And Ken, I want to take
you to lunch some time soon.
I'll call you.
Wow! You were terrific!
You ought to go into politics!
Yeah, I really handled
that beautifully, I really did.
All right, Quincy, I've
used my only ace for you.
Now it's up to you.
I won't let you down.
Boy, that was
terrific, really terrific!
I've got to hand it to Astin.
When he sets his
mind to do something,
- he really gets it done,
doesn't he?
- Yeah.
There is an irregular
decomposition of the body.
I hope the evidence
hasn't been destroyed.
We'll know soon enough.
Look at the forceps
marks on the baby's head.
Shafer must've had a
hard time extracting him.
We'd better look at the brain.
Brain.
It's normal, it's
well preserved.
Cranium nerves are intact.
The cervical spinal
cord appears normal.
Wait a minute, hold on,
there's a hemorrhage.
Yeah, it looks like the vein
of Galen's been ruptured.
It could be a small
tentorial tear in the brain.
But you can't tell
just by looking at it
whether it's a
real lesion caused
by the heavy use of forceps
or post-mortem color changes.
We better run a series of
microsections to make sure.
All right, Quince,
but from the decomposed
condition of the tissues,
we won't be able to
get any frozen sections.
We'll have to embed
the tissues in paraffin.
- That'll take hours.
- Sorry, Quince.
Well, let's not waste
time talking about it.
I'll let you do it.
Here they are, Quince.
Well, Sam, this
will tell the story.
Nothing. Give me another one.
Sam...
There it is.
Oh, Astin's string-pulling
really paid off this time.
Take a look!
That ought to be enough proof
of negligence by Doctor Shafer.
Let's go. Full photo series.
Eddie's all set to process them.
You still can't stop him
without a formal inquest.
We can try, Sam,
we can really try.
Where's Doctor Shafer?
He'll be in in a second.
He's scrubbing up.
Hey, how're you doing, Tompkins?
Ready to cut some tissue?
Well, what've we got here?
Here you go, sir.
It was a tough delivery.
It needed careful
use of the forceps.
Which Doctor Shafer's
done countless times.
Except this time, he
must've been drunk.
The baby had large indentations
on both sides of the skull.
They were made by
the tips of the forceps.
The pressure caused
severe brain damage.
It's indisputable.
Where's Doctor Shafer?
He's already gone into surgery.
Scalpel please.
Let's try that again.
What're you doing?
I'm sorry, Doctor, I
can't let you do this.
I'm sorry.
I see your two dollars.
Raise you two dollars.
See your two dollars
and raise you two dollars.
See your two dollars
and raise you two dollars.
I think you're bluffing.
- Try me.
- Monahan,
you know he doesn't bluff!
- Call.
- Whaddya got?
A pair of nines!
Beats my threes.
And he thought
you were bluffing!
I had you guys out, didn't I?
Hey, what happened
to that Shafer case
you guys were working on?
Well, the malpractice
insurance company
is settling with the families
of his two patients who died.
- That's terrific.
- And the Board of
Medical Quality Assurance
is pulling his license, they're
going to see what develops.
Well, that's the best anyone
can do under the circumstances.
- Voila!
- Quincy,
you're buying the drinks?
Yeah.
- What is this?
- You're a detective,
figure it out!
Lemonade?
What's the matter? Did
you lose your liquor license?
No, Doctor Quincy
wants to turn this place
into an ice cream parlor.
Are you kidding?
With this stuff?
For crying out
loud! Aw, come on!
Come on, fellas, listen,
I don't want to preach
and be a pain in the neck
but I figured if we gave
up booze for one night,
it might make us
aware of how much
we've been consuming lately.
What are we?
Potential alcoholics?
Isn't everybody?
- Health.
- Health.
Health.
problem doesn't hurt anyone else again.
- What problem?
- You're holding
it in your hand.
Is it true that you're
ignoring the death
of a girl who died in
there from an abortion?
My daughter's dead, and all
you can tell me to do it forget it?
But if you ignore this,
and you're proven wrong,
won't you be risking everything?
You think I can just walk up to him
and accuse him of being a drunk?
We would never pull a doctor's
license on the basis of one case.
What do we have to do?
Hang around until
he bags the limit?
Gentlemen, you
are about to enter
the most fascinating
sphere of police work,
the world of forensic medicine.
- I've got to
see Doctor Shafer.
- Are you a patient of his?
Yes, Julie Reed. Please,
I've got to see the doctor.
I'm sorry, but Doctor
Shafer isn't here today.
Oh, where is he?
- I can call his office.
- I already did that.
I've been trying to reach
him, but I can't find him.
- It's all right,
it's all right...
- I don't know where he is.
I'll get you another
doctor. Hold on.
Who do we got here?
She's pale, diabetic, pulse
is erratic, B.P. is 70 over 35.
She's bleeding.
Give her two I.V.'s, one
in each arm going. C'mon.
Let's give her radius oxygen.
All right, get type and cross-section
and two units of whole blood.
She's got a bad
uterine hemorrhage.
- Whose patient is she?
- Doctor Shafer's.
Get an O.R. room ready.
B-fib.
Paddles!
Clear.
Astin should be happy.
I'm all caught up, right?
- Wrong.
- What do you mean wrong?
There's one more.
She just came in.
Who is she?
Her name is Julie
Reed. Aged seventeen.
Seventeen... What
happened to her?
She died at the Bennett Clinic
of post-operative complications,
and her family
requested an autopsy.
- It's a private case?
- Yeah.
Astin's having it done anyway.
And the family's paying for it.
What was the cause of death?
She died of complications
following an abortion
and her mother
requested an autopsy.
Seventeen years
old. I can't blame her.
Or she's looking to
sue for malpractice.
Hey, be careful, Sam.
You're turning into
a full-fledged cynic.
- She had it done
at the clinic, huh?
- Uh-huh.
How can this happen now
when abortions are supposed
to be so safe and clean?
From the size of the corpus luteum
and the dimensions of the uterus,
she looks like she was further
along than I would have thought.
Then her pregnancy was past
the safe limit for an abortion?
Could have been.
We'd better call the
clinic's pathologist later
and find out exactly how
far the pregnancy had gone.
Okay.
The fallopian tubes are intact
and the uterine cavity
is well evacuated.
It's really clean. There's
no residual placenta.
Sounds like a normal
procedure so far.
Yep. Wait a minute.
The cervix was not adequately
dilated before the abortion.
Look at those contusions.
It looks like he
was in a hurry, Sam.
They indicate a much
rougher than normal curettage.
What was he doing to her?
We'd better do some transverse sections.
Let me have the scalpel, will you?
Incising the endocervical wall.
There are several false
intramural passages.
You mean where the
instrument strayed?
Yeah, several times. Here,
see one here and one here.
Did any of them
perforate the uterus?
No, no, but what
might have happened
is a trauma related thrombosis
of the oarametirial veins.
Blood clot.
Blood clot.
Sam, I want you to run a
series of microscopic sections
and rush them through.
You're talking about negligence?
You're darn right.
We'll know better
when we see the slides.
Here are the micros, Quince.
The lab guys think they broke
the record getting them done.
- Good.
- I contacted the pathologist,
and he said the pregnancy
had gone to seventeen weeks.
- Seventeen weeks!
- Mmm-hmm.
That's at least four weeks more
than what most doctors
consider a safe limit.
That could have
caused the complications.
If the term of pregnancy
was misdiagnosed,
it wouldn't help matters.
Let's see the slides.
What do you mean by telling
the lab to drop everything else
and push your work through?
Do you know how long I've been
waiting for the Baedeker-Hoffman results?
Yeah, about two
weeks, that's how long.
What's a few more hours?
Well, what are you
in such a hurry for?
I found a complication
in the Julie Reed case.
Quincy, that's a private
case. It does not take priority.
I mean, isn't it just routine?
- No, we've found
something unusual.
- Oh, boy.
I should know if anybody
would, you would.
There are signs of inflammation
around the false passages,
and clotting in the
parametrial veins of the uterus.
Take a look.
That's what caused the
pulmonary embolism that killed her.
A shower of clots broke off
and traveled to the
arteries of her lungs.
Then you do think
it's negligence?
Maybe. It's more
suggestive than conclusive.
That's why I want
to find out more.
- More?
- Yeah...
Quincy, you have to be
more efficient in this case.
Now, I told that girl's
mother there was a fixed fee.
You've exceeded
that. Oh, forget it.
I'm going to make this
an official investigation.
Oh, of course, I
should have known.
We are going to
bear the expense.
What do you want
me to do, forget it?
Pretend we never saw it,
pretend it didn't happen?
If this Shafer is responsible, don't
you think we ought to stop him?
I love the way you hand me a
decision without any choice to make.
Spend, spend, spend.
All right, work on the case.
Beneath that bureaucratic
pragmatic exterior of yours,
you do believe in the
same things we do.
I suppose that's a compliment?
It's all I've got in
stock. See you later.
What are you smiling at?
Don't you have work to do?
Yes, it was a shame
about Julie Reed.
May I offer you something?
No, thank you.
- Seltzer?
- No, thanks.
I've got a waiting
room full of people.
How can I help you?
You can tell me why
you performed an abortion
on a girl who was
pregnant seventeen weeks.
Seventeen weeks?
According to her history and
what she said was her
last menstrual period,
it shouldn't have been
more than fourteen weeks.
- Well,
didn't you check it out?
- Of course I did.
I used the standard methods
any obstetrician would.
The size of the uterus,
I performed a pelvic.
Well, did you determine the
cranial diameter of the fetus?
Doctor Quincy, when you've
seen as many patients as I have,
you can almost
tell it at a glance.
Pigmentation, for example.
Well, obviously your glance
was off by a few weeks this time.
The girl lied to me.
You see, I don't have the luxury of
making as precise an examination
after death as you
can, Doctor Quincy.
But whether it was fourteen
weeks or seventeen weeks,
I was still within the
legal statutes of this state.
Is that what you're concerned
with? Your legal status?
Most doctors are leery of performing
a curette abortion after twelve weeks.
They have their
policies. I have mine.
We also found
contusions and abrasions
and several false
passages in the uterine wall.
You were very
rough on that girl.
It was a more difficult
procedure than anticipated,
but there was nothing excessive.
You didn't find any
perforation, did you?
No.
But we found a low-grade infection
and clotting in the pelvic veins
which caused the
pulmonary embolism.
Those are relatively
rare complications
that could have developed in any
abortion at any time, in any patient.
But they're more likely to happen to
girls who are closer to the legal limits,
especially if their term
had been misdiagnosed.
Doctor Quincy.
If you're trying to accuse me
of negligence or malpractice,
that's the weakest
case I have ever heard.
There are dentists who
do more damage than that.
But they don't lose their
patients in the process.
Now wait!
If you think I was in any way
responsible for the death of that girl,
I challenge you to prove it.
That case may have
approached the borderline,
but it definitely
didn't cross it.
Can you deny that?
No, not absolutely.
You'll excuse me.
I have patients waiting.
I can't believe it happened.
Out of the blue, I get this phone
call telling me my daughter's dead.
I asked if she'd
been in an accident,
but they said no, it was
complications from an abortion.
An abortion!
Excuse me, Mrs. Reed,
here's Doctor Quincy
who did the examination
on your daughter.
Doctor Quincy, Mrs. Reed,
who ordered the post-mortem.
I'm very sorry.
Didn't you know your daughter
was having an abortion?
I should say not. I
don't believe in them,
and neither did Julie.
That boyfriend of hers
must have talked her into it.
Those murderers.
We didn't find
anything conclusive.
There were abnormalities,
but nothing that would clearly
indicate that anyone was at fault.
So what am I supposed to do?
Forget I ever had a daughter?
Oh no, that doctor is going
to pay for what he's done.
Mrs. Reed, if Doctor Quincy
found any proof of negligence,
he'd be the first one to
advise you to see an attorney.
I'd personally do everything
I could to help you.
But you can't win a
malpractice from what we found.
Believe me.
Why should I believe you?
My daughter's dead, and all
you can tell me to do it forget it?
Well, you don't have to
go back to an empty house
and an empty life.
I'm not gonna let them get
away with this, do you hear me?
- Mrs. Reed.
- Please,
Quincy, Quincy, let her go.
There's nothing you
can say to her now.
She'll just have to get over it.
It'll take time.
Lots of time.
Come in. Yeah, Pete?
Doctor Quincy, there's
someone out here to see you.
Send him in.
What can I do for you?
Are you the doctor
that looked at Julie?
Yes, I am. Who are you?
I'm Jeff Price. I
was the father.
I talked her into
having the abortion.
Sit down, please, sit down.
Why did she wait so long?
Well, her mother insisted
that she have the baby.
Well, Julie, she went back and
forth trying to make her mind up.
And she finally listened to me.
It's all my fault, doctor.
No, no.
Now you and Julie were
responsible for the abortion.
But you are certainly not
responsible for her death.
But I didn't say anything.
About what?
I was very worried when
she went to have the abortion.
- What do you mean?
- I went with
her to the clinic.
I wanted to be with
her. To hold her hand.
To see her through all this.
I met the doctor beforehand,
and I was sure there was
something wrong with him.
Something wrong with him?
He didn't seem to be all there.
He didn't listen to Julie.
And then I noticed his hands.
They were trembling.
I should have spoken up
and I should have said
something right there and then,
but I didn't. I didn't!
What do you think
was wrong with him?
I think he was drunk.
My daughter died in there,
and they're covering it up.
Nobody's doing
anything about it.
There's the coroner
who's helping them.
Why don't you ask Doctor
Quincy what he's doing?
Doctor Quincy...
Is it true that you're
ignoring the death
of a girl who died there from
an abortion, Doctor Quincy?
No, we're investigating it very
thoroughly. That's why I'm here.
Doctor, can you tell
us what happened
or who was responsible
for the girl's death?
It would be inappropriate for me
to make any comment at this time
since I don't have
enough information.
I'm sorry.
Stop legalized murder!
If it was a gall bladder
operation in a hospital,
nobody would pay any attention.
But because we do abortions
and there is one death in thousands,
they're out in force,
even if it was unavoidable.
Well, we can't be too sure
about that, Doctor Blair.
That's why I came to see you.
Well, you sound serious.
Surely you're not saying
that we're at fault, are you?
Well, there are definite signs
that Doctor Shafer used a
rough technique on Julie Reed.
It could have contributed
directly to the embolism.
Well, I can understand
that. The girl had lied to him.
The fetus was more fully
evolved than he expected.
But a man with Doctor
Shafer's experience
should have been
able to take care of it.
Is it possible that,
well, that his drinking is
interfering with his work?
What?
How can you say such
a thing? Have you proof?
If I had any proof,
I wouldn't be here.
I'd be at the Board of
Medical Quality Assurance
having his license pulled.
Then how can you
make such an accusation?
I'm not making any accusations.
I'm trying to find
out what happened
so I can prevent it from
ever happening again.
I talked to Julie
Reed's boyfriend,
and he thinks that
Doctor Shafer was drunk
when he performed the abortion.
And that could answer a
lot of the things that I found.
Then why didn't he say anything?
Why didn't he try to
stop Doctor Shafer?
Oh, c'mon, how can a kid
stop a doctor from operating?
Besides, that's
your job, not his.
Well, I...
Frankly, Doctor Quincy,
I don't know what he saw
or how expert he is.
But his opinion isn't much.
And if Doctor Shafer
had such a problem,
I'd certainly know about it.
I'm not saying that he's staggering
drunk through the corridors.
But he's a doctor. If
he's the least bit dull,
it could affect his work
without being too obvious.
I just can't believe it.
Do you know what you're saying?
Doctor Richard
Shafer has been doing
outstanding OB/GYN work
in this city for twenty years.
You know how many
babies he's delivered?
You know how many operations
he's completed successfully?
I know he can do them by
rote if nothing goes wrong.
Along comes a Julie Reed,
there are complications.
If he's the least bit tipsy, he
may not be able to handle it.
You're putting me in
a very difficult position.
There are a lot of
hospitals in this city
who offer the same
service that we do.
But you know how few of them
are administered by women?
I have worked very hard to
put this organization together.
There are a lot of
critical eyes watching us,
waiting for us to
make a mistake.
I can't risk this entire clinic
on some shakey allegations.
But if you ignore this,
and you're proven wrong,
won't you be risking everything?
Can't you check it out?
All right. I'll... I'll
speak to the staff
and we'll monitor
Doctor Shafer for a while.
And wait for another Julie Reed?
Can't you at least talk to him?
You think I can just walk up to him
and accuse him of being a drunk?
Without any substantiation?
Doctor Quincy, this
isn't a large hospital
or a wealthy private clinic.
We rely on public funding,
and the donated services
of doctors like Doctor Shafer
and I'm very proud to
have him on our staff.
Maybe you should be less
impressed with what he's done
and more concerned
with what he's doing.
Nurse...
Yes? Can I help you?
I'm Doctor Quincy. I'm
with the coroner's office.
I'd like to talk to you
about Julie Reed.
Oh, that poor girl. That
was a terrible shame.
Could you tell me who assisted
Doctor Shafer in the abortion?
The senior resident,
Doctor Tompkins.
He was the one
who tried to save her.
Where could I find him?
Well, right now he's
just gone to lunch.
Why don't you try the cafeteria?
- Thank you. Is that on the left?
- Yes.
That's good.
How's your kid
doing? He doing okay?
Still got the bandages on?
- Doctor Tompkins?
- Yes?
I'm Doctor Quincy. I'm
with the coroner's office.
Could I talk to you for
a couple of minutes?
Sure.
I understand you're
the senior resident here.
- Yeah.
- They must keep
you pretty busy.
Oh, about eighty to a
hundred hours a week.
But I'm sure you know
that's par for the course.
- Good training.
- Yeah.
You assisted Doctor Shafer
on the Julie Reed
abortion, didn't you?
Yes.
I have some questions
about her death
you might be able
to answer for me.
What do you mean?
The possibility that there was
negligence due to his drinking.
Why don't you
talk to Doctor Blair?
She's the head of the clinic.
I already have, and doesn't
know anything about it.
I figured since you
were right there...
- What do you
want me to tell you?
- What really happened.
I don't think it's my place to
comment on another doctor's work.
Well, since the patient died,
I thought you might be
willing to talk about it.
Well, I'm not.
It'll be a lot tougher telling
it at the coroner's inquest.
Okay.
But this is just
between you and me.
Shafer does have
a drinking problem.
Most of the time
he's really great.
He's better half-crocked than
most doctors are when they're sober.
But within the last year,
he's begun to deteriorate.
He's had a couple other near
misses that we've covered for him.
How does he get away with it?
Don't the other doctors
or nurses notice?
Of course, but nobody's
willing to make an issue of it.
Why not?
Because it's too
imperfect a profession
to start pointing
fingers at each other.
What about you? You
willing to point a finger?
No, I don't want
to get involved.
I said this was between us.
Between us!
If a tailor made you
a suit that was lousy,
you'd see that the whole
world boycotted him.
The worst he could do is make
you a pair of pants that are too long.
But someone who can
hurt people, can maim them,
can kill them, that's
supposed to be between us?
What kind of a
brotherhood is that?
What kind of ethics are those?
It's not my
responsibility to stop him.
If I did what you're asking,
my career would be
over before it even started.
There are certain
bylaws we have to follow
in order to join the club.
Then those laws should be
changed or maybe the club torn down.
And the excellent
doctors with it?
You don't throw out the baby
with the bath water, do you?
That's just the way things are.
You know, you're kind of old
to have such young feelings,
aren't you?
You're kind of young
to have such old ones.
What do you mean you
can't do anything about it?
This is the Board of Medical
Quality Assurance, isn't it?
I mean, if you can't do anything
about an incompetent doctor,
how do you justify
your existence?
We can't bring a
physician up on charges
every time there's a complaint.
There wouldn't be
anyone left to practice.
These are very serious
accusations, Doctor Quincy.
We need proof.
What am I going to have
to do to convince you?
Bring us some absolute,
concrete evidence of negligence
or substandard medical practice.
I could show you
the body of a woman
with a curettage so rough
that it could have led
to the complications
that caused her death.
The operative words
there are "could have."
Now that's your
opinion, Doctor Quincy.
That is not real concrete
proof of malpractice.
So you're not even
going to investigate him?
There wouldn't be any point.
We would have to establish a
pattern of this type of practice.
We would never pull a doctor's
license on the basis of one case.
You mean one
death is not enough?
What do we have to do?
Hang around until
he bags the limit?
Wait a minute!
You're a doctor,
you should know better
than to say things like that.
We can't expect
doctors to be infallible.
We have to give them
the benefit of a doubt.
Do you know what
you're asking us to do?
Do you really want us to
take away this man's livelihood
and ruin his career?
If that's the only way
you can stop him, yes!
He was drunk when he
performed that abortion!
Oh, do you know that for a fact?
His colleague told me so.
And will he testify?
No, he won't testify.
Then I'm sorry, Doctor Quincy,
but we are just not
prepared to cope with it.
Well, maybe if you
investigated cases like this,
and assured the doctors
that you would back them up,
they might talk.
It's Catch-22.
They don't talk because they
don't believe we'll back them up,
and we can't back them
up because they don't talk.
Terrific day. Hey, take
care of that, will ya.
I just don't know
how you did it.
Yeah, you had four
martinis and six wines
and you still beat us.
That's because I
know how to handle it.
I know my limits.
George, drinks all around.
What limits?
I'm surprised you
could even find the tee.
Honey... Listen, I
could beat you guys
without even
trying to find the tee.
- Hi, love.
- Hi, darling.
- Got your shopping done?
- Yes.
C'mon, Ron, we
gotta hit the showers.
No, no, no, c'mon,
listen, I just ordered drinks.
- Sit down.
- All right.
Hi, how are you,
Charlie? Hi, Ed.
- How are you today?
- Fine.
Listen, I feel great.
You know something, I
almost made a hole in one.
You did? That's great.
- I couldn't believe it.
- Really?
Tony, a tonic and water
for the most beautiful girl
in the world.
- You sure you need another?
- Oh, c'mon.
I'm not working today.
You don't have to
keep watch over me.
Doctor Shafer?
Well, Doctor Quincy.
You come here to see how
the other half in
private practice lives?
Dear, this is Doctor Quincy.
He's the coroner who's
so interested in my work.
Mrs. Shafer. This
is Charlie and Ed...
- Ed, Charlie...
- Doctor...
May I talk to you alone
for a few minutes outside?
Hey, uh, we'll see you, Ron.
- No, no, c'mon, c'mon.
- No, we've got to run, later.
Okay, I'll see you later.
Well now, Doctor Quincy,
tell me, are you planning
to write my biography?
I mean, you've been talking to
Doctor Blair and Doctor Tompkins,
and now with me again?
I thought we had the
whole thing settled?
I'm afraid not.
- Would you like
something to drink?
- No, thank you.
No objection if I do, is there?
I mean, there's no one in the
next room waiting to see me.
Would it make any
difference if you were working?
- What is that
supposed to mean?
- Ron...
I'd rather talk to
you alone outside.
Okay.
Julie Reed's boyfriend
thinks you were drunk
when you performed
that abortion on her.
I do not go to work drunk.
Look. Why do you
keep going around
trying to impugn my reputation?
Now let's get the
record straight.
I may have a drink,
maybe two, with lunch,
but I'm able to handle it.
It doesn't mean that I am
finished for the
rest of the day.
I don't believe that.
I'm going to see to it that your
problem doesn't hurt anyone else again.
- What problem?
- You're holding
it in your hand.
You need help.
And who are you to judge?
It's none of your business.
When Julie Reed came to my
table, it became my business.
Why do you keep trying
to blame me for that?
Because you were in no
condition to perform that abortion.
You were drunk.
- You're a liar!
- Ron...
- Stay out of this!
- Ron!
Elizabeth.
I'm sorry, dear, forgive me,
please, I never meant to hurt you.
There you are, Quincy, would
you come with me, please?
Have you seen this?
Yeah, the Rams
lost again yesterday.
I don't mean the
sports page. I mean that.
"Abortion death controversy."
Why is it whenever I
see your name in print,
even before I read the article,
I break out into a cold sweat?
It didn't make the front page.
Well, thank God
for small blessings.
I suppose tomorrow
I'll see a story
about the flap at the Mountainview
Country Club over this.
You heard about that one?
Well, Shafer's
attorney called me.
He said you instigated a fight.
He's talking a lawsuit
for harassment,
abusing your authority.
I didn't harass him!
The guy was too drunk
to listen to the truth!
You know, your job is here
performing autopsies and not...
And I'm responsible
for those autopsies!
Yes? Well, in the knick of time.
Now, look, Quincy,
what I'm trying to say
is that I think you
need some help.
That's why I called
in Doctor Taylor.
He's a psychiatrist.
I don't need a psychiatrist!
Doctor Taylor treats
doctors who are disabled
because of alcohol problems
or drug problems, or both.
"Disabled"? That's
some euphemism.
- Stewart, how are you?
- Fine, Bob.
Glad you could come.
This is Doctor Quincy.
Hello. I've heard
a lot about you.
Nice to meet you.
Bob told me a little
bit about your problem.
The problem seems to be
getting somebody to
admit there is a problem.
Yeah, that's half the battle.
How many of these
cases have you handled?
Well, I've seen a few.
But I think we have only
scratched the surface.
There must be twenty
thousand doctors out there
having problems
with drugs or alcohol.
Twenty thousand!
That's about ten percent
of our entire profession.
There aren't any exact
figures, it's just an estimate.
But I'd say there's half a
million patients under their care.
Well, what are you
guys doing about that?
Well, we're trying to set up
rehabilitation and treatment programs.
But it all takes time.
I mean, this is a new area.
We're just starting to
learn how to deal with it.
You know, I can understand
how some doctors get hooked,
but if anybody should
know better, we should.
Look, underneath the white
coats, we're all human beings.
And you know the kinds of
pressure that we work under.
A man could stand
there for twelve hours
in intensive open heart surgery.
Maybe he loses a
couple of patients
so he starts drinking
or he pops a few pills
to relieve the pressure.
But we're not talking about
some skid row indigents here.
We're talking about highly
trained, intelligent people.
It's no shame to
admit they need help.
Alcoholism is basically
a disease of denial,
no matter who the patient is.
The first impulse is to say,
"Oh, no, oh, no, not me."
The medical profession
is partly to blame too,
because they've
always labeled this
as a weakness that
needs punishment,
not as an illness
that needs a cure.
It's ironic that doctors never like
to think of themselves as patients.
Other doctors don't help
because of misguided ethics.
Look, it's not exactly that
simple, Doctor Quincy.
Suppose you had a
doctor that you admired
and he started having problems,
you'd want to help him.
You don't want to give him
any problems and ruin his career.
He's endangering
the lives of his patients!
I mean, surgery is risky enough
without having those kind of odds.
These people aren't going out
knocking off people left and right.
These men are
mostly good doctors.
Ninety-nine cases
out of a hundred
they can either
handle the situation
or they don't do surgery.
What about the hundredth when
they run across a guy like Shafer?
No, he shouldn't be allowed
to practice until he gets help.
What are you going to
do, condemn them all?
Look, people are complaining
already about the lack of doctors.
You're talking about
losing some more?
We're trying to conserve
skills here, not waste them.
How can you do that
with a guy like Shafer?
Try and get him to go
see a doctor voluntarily.
I tried to do that and
I failed, remember?
Maybe it needs a more
delicate touch than yours.
Oh, yeah? Like yours?
Look, we'll try to find
somebody that's close to him,
like a friend or a member
of the family to talk to him.
I guess it's worth a shot.
Lousy weather for tennis.
It's not going to let up.
Neither are you.
What are you doing here?
I have to talk to you,
it's very important.
I've got nothing to say to you.
Believe me, I want
to help your husband.
How?
By spreading lies about
him, and embarrassing us
in front of our friends?
Are they lies?
Of course they are.
Your husband's drinking
is none of my business.
That's right.
But the three girls he's
going to operate on Friday are.
I believe he's responsible
for the death of Julie Reed.
And if I don't protect
those three women,
then I won't be doing my job.
Can you prove he's responsible?
Not legally.
Don't you want to
help your husband?
He doesn't need any help.
Look, just because he
overdoes it now and then
that does not mean
he's an alcoholic.
He can handle it!
He can handle it?
You mean he knows
when he's had enough?
That's the cry of
every alcoholic!
I expected to hear it
from him, but not from you.
Well, your husband doesn't
know when he's had enough.
And you're the only
one that can get him
to give up those procedures.
- Give up the procedures?
- Yeah...
But that's just like
saying he can't handle it!
That would destroy him!
I'm not going to do that to him.
I've known that man
for twenty five years and
he's the most dedicated doctor,
the finest man I've ever known.
He's going through some
rough times right now...
But he's going to pull
out of it, I know that.
He's going to pull out of it,
if you'll just get off his back.
What he needs
right now is support,
and I'm going to give it to him.
- Hi, Irv, how you doing?
- Hi, Doctor Quincy.
How are things
on the third floor?
To tell you the truth,
I don't know, Irv.
I haven't been down
there that often lately.
I need some
information right away.
Well, what is it?
Have you had any death certificates
signed by a Doctor Ron Shafer
within the past three years?
Shafer. Shafer.
There's a Lionel Shafer,
and a Ron Shafer.
Yeah, Ron.
Yeah. I think
there are a couple.
How can you remember
with all these files?
My mind's like a steel trap.
You remember the Adams case?
They finally got the husband
and pow, now he should
have never married her.
Let's see...
Saul. Segetti. Shafer.
Yup, two in the
last three years.
Hi, Quincy. What you got there?
Death certificates from
two of Shafer's patients.
Anything unusual?
This one died from
cervical cancer.
He couldn't have been
responsible for that.
This one's a little
more suspicious.
This infant was stillborn
due to intrauterine anoxia.
It does sound more suspicious.
I could find out more if I
could examine the body.
- How long ago was the death?
- Eight months.
- And there wasn't any autopsy?
- No.
Shafer just signed the death
certificate and let it go at that.
In that case, you'll have to
get permission of the family
or a court order
for an exhumation.
I hate to do it but I'm
gonna start with the family.
I knew there was
something wrong.
I knew my baby
shouldn't have died.
Nobody would listen to me.
According to the death
certificate signed by Doctor Shafer,
the baby died prior to birth.
That isn't true.
He was alive and healthy
when I went into labor.
I could feel him.
He was in the breech position
so it was a difficult birth.
They put me to sleep,
and when I woke up they told me
that my baby was born dead.
- Was there any
further explanation?
- No, no.
I tried to ask the
anesthesiologist about it.
He'd been so friendly before.
Afterwards he avoided me.
I knew it.
I knew something was wrong.
That's what I'm trying
to prove, Mrs. Burrows.
But I need your help.
Hi, babe. What's up?
Oh, Doctor Quincy, this
is my husband, Frank.
How do you do.
Frank, Doctor Quincy
is a medical examiner.
He's here to talk about Jamie.
What good is that?
It is over and it is done with.
We're finally getting over it.
Doctor Quincy, why do you
want to bring back all the pain
and heartbreak for?
I'm sorry, I don't
want to hurt you.
I just want to make sure
that nobody else gets hurt.
Listen, my wife and I have
been sick about this for months.
When our baby died, I
couldn't sleep at night.
I lay awake wondering
what he might have been like.
But nothing is going
to bring him back,
and I can finally sleep again
and I don't want either of
us upset about it anymore!
I need permission to exhume
the body so I can do an autopsy.
- You mean on the baby?
- Yes.
No!
I'm telling you, no!
I don't want to have
anything to do with it.
We are going to try
and have another baby.
We want to try and
forget! Don't you under...
Please, just leave us alone.
We just want to be left alone.
I'm sorry. I can't go
against my husband.
Why is everybody
giving me the run-around?
I can't get a straight answer.
What is going on around here?
Hey, Quincy, look at
me. I'm an underling.
Yeah, sure, you're an underling.
Will you please sit
down, take it easy?
What can I do for you?
I would like a court
order to exhume a body.
- Okay.
- Is it a big deal?
It's no big deal.
- Then give it to me.
- Okay.
It's the end of the day
and I'll take care of it
first thing in the
morning. That's all.
No big deal. Give me
the information, Quincy.
The name of the
decedent is Jamie Burrows.
You're always screaming at me.
He died in childbirth
eight months ago
at the Bennett Clinic.
Now the doctor who...
- Now wait, hold... Hold on a second.
- What's the matter?
- Oh brother!
- What's the matter?
Does this have anything to do
with that abortion case, Quincy?
Yeah, it's the same
doctor involved.
Then I'm not involved anymore.
I can't handle it.
That's it, that's it.
- Why not?
- Because of this.
Once case has nothing
to do with the other.
Not case, not case.
This word right here.
Abortion. Abortion, you see it?
- Yeah.
- It's too big
a political potato
for us to even get involved in.
Who's asking you
to get involved?
Just give me a court
order to exhume a body.
- I don't want you involved.
- Just exhume a body, right?
That's right. Yeah.
Then you know what comes?
The reporters come here.
Then they ask my opinion.
I offend some and
then I make some smile.
You know who I don't make smile?
My boss! Forget about it!
Hey, wait a minute.
Since when does
the County Counsel's
office run a popularity poll?
Always, Quincy, always.
That's the way they work.
This is an election year.
The Supreme Court has
decreed that abortions are legal.
What does the local election
have to do with the Supreme Court?
Unfortunately, people don't
vote the way we'd like them to.
Are you saying you're
not going to help me?
I can't.
Even if I wanted to, I
can't. My boss won't let me.
Quincy, I've got an idea.
Get permission
from the next-of-kin.
Then you won't
need a court order.
Sure and get you
off the hook, right?
I already saw them,
they turned me down.
Well, I guess you're up a
creek without a paddle, Quincy.
That's it?
Come see us right after November.
Right after November, we'll talk.
November?
Two days from now
it will be too late.
- Politics.
- Yeah.
No wonder it's a dirty word.
Are you here to see me
about Doctor Shafer again?
Yeah. I'm here about
another one of his patients.
He delivered a stillborn
baby about eight months ago.
- You know anything about it?
- Which case was it?
The family's name was
Burrows. It was their first child.
Now he put down intrauterine
anoxia as the cause of death.
I don't think that baby
did die before birth.
- What makes you so sure?
- I spoke to the mother.
It was an uneventful pregnancy.
The baby was alive
when she went into labor.
She felt movement.
So maybe, just maybe,
Shafer did something wrong
and I was wondering if you
assisted him in that delivery?
- No.
- Are you sure?
- Will Doctor
Tompkins please...
- Yeah. Excuse me.
Call twenty-three?
Doctor Tompkins,
call twenty-three.
This is Doctor Tompkins.
- Emergency with
the Jones case.
- Did you call Doctor Shafer?
- We can't find him.
- I'll be right there.
Excuse me, I have
to get to surgery.
- What happened?
- We saved her.
One of the arteries was
severed a couple of days ago.
There was some slow
bleeding, and it finally ruptured.
That's what happened.
Did Shafer ignore
that in surgery?
Now have you seen enough to
do something about Doctor Shafer?
Do you know what would happen
if I made a complaint against him?
He's got a reputation and
twenty years experience.
I'm a senior resident.
I'll tell you what would happen.
Shafer would go back to his practice.
You'd go back to your
practice and I'd never have one.
How many more emergencies
like this do you have to see
before you make a
move against the guy?
Listen, my family
sacrificed their whole life
to make me a doctor
because they knew
how important it was to me.
When I was thirteen years
old, I was running errands
for the nearest hospital
after school for nothing.
My summer vacations
I spent as a volunteer.
I couldn't get enough of
it. I admired those doctors.
To me those doctors
were ten feet tall
and they had hands of gold.
Well, I'm a big boy
now, and I'm a doctor.
And I'm a doctor
who knows the score.
That's why I put my
idealism in my back pocket.
You are a good doctor.
You could be a fine one.
But not if you start
selling out now.
You do and you'll be
no better than Shafer.
What do you want me to do?
I'm almost there,
I'm almost finished,
and you want me
to risk everything?
Well, I'm not going to do it.
I'm not going to throw it away!
Listen, it's impossible.
Are you sure you've
done everything you can?
Yeah, but I'm not sure
we've done everything we can.
What do you mean?
Nobody can pull
strings the way you can.
Our only chance is to exhume
the baby and prove negligence.
Now couldn't you put a little pressure
on the County Counselor's office,
and get a court order?
Quincy, if you'd come to me
earlier, maybe. It takes time.
A court order is not
a one-step procedure.
Yeah, but you can
push it through. I know it.
Now if you got it right away,
Sam and I would
work around the clock.
We need the results by eight
o'clock tomorrow morning.
Why?
Because that's when he's
performing a Caesarian.
Now look, I know
we'll find something!
You really think that you would?
Would I ask you to
do this if I wasn't sure?
And Jackson wouldn't give you
a court order because of politics?
You know what he said?
"Come back in November."
That's how blatant he was.
Come back in November!
All right, Quincy, you've
put yourself on the line
for this department and
maybe it's time we joined you!
So Ken Jackson is
worried about politics.
Robin, get me Ken Jackson at
the County Counselor's office.
I can give him
something to worry about!
I've been saving my own little
political bomb for a rainy day.
- I think this is a rainy day!
- It's pouring!
Quincy, why don't you ever
make things simple for me?
- I don't want
your life to be dull.
- Dull?
Here it is.
Mr. Jackson on the line.
- You want to hear this one?
- Oh yeah.
Robin okay and put
this line on the speaker.
Ken...
Doctor Astin! How are you today?
Well, to tell you the truth,
Ken, I'm really rather upset.
I need a court order for an
exhumation in a case we're working on.
Uh, that wouldn't
happen to be the same
court order that Doctor Quincy
and I were discussing, would it?
Yes, Ken, as a
matter of fact, it would.
I see.
Well, you know,
to tell you the truth,
I don't think my boss really
would be interested in that.
Now, Ken. I feel
this is very important.
I'm afraid I'll have
to exercise my rights
as Chief Deputy Medical
Examiner and demand it!
I see.
Well, I'll tell you what.
Uh, heck, I could discuss it
with him but to tell you the truth,
I don't think he'll go for it.
Ken...
Thank you very much
for taking it up with him.
I mean, I know you're busy.
I know you're involved, Ken.
By the way, is there any
truth to that rumor I heard
about you guys and
the zoning change
put through by the
Board of Supervisors?
Excuse me. I have
something caught in my throat.
How did you hear about that?
Gee, I don't remember, Ken.
But of course, if you
really want to know,
I suppose I could ask around...
No, no. Heck, no,
that's not necessary. No.
Oh. Okay!
I promise you that I will get
into it in depth with my boss, sir.
Ken, I want you to thank the
county counselor very much
for his cooperation.
And Ken, because we feel
this is a life or death situation
if we could have that court
order in a couple of hours,
that would be fine.
And Ken, I want to take
you to lunch some time soon.
I'll call you.
Wow! You were terrific!
You ought to go into politics!
Yeah, I really handled
that beautifully, I really did.
All right, Quincy, I've
used my only ace for you.
Now it's up to you.
I won't let you down.
Boy, that was
terrific, really terrific!
I've got to hand it to Astin.
When he sets his
mind to do something,
- he really gets it done,
doesn't he?
- Yeah.
There is an irregular
decomposition of the body.
I hope the evidence
hasn't been destroyed.
We'll know soon enough.
Look at the forceps
marks on the baby's head.
Shafer must've had a
hard time extracting him.
We'd better look at the brain.
Brain.
It's normal, it's
well preserved.
Cranium nerves are intact.
The cervical spinal
cord appears normal.
Wait a minute, hold on,
there's a hemorrhage.
Yeah, it looks like the vein
of Galen's been ruptured.
It could be a small
tentorial tear in the brain.
But you can't tell
just by looking at it
whether it's a
real lesion caused
by the heavy use of forceps
or post-mortem color changes.
We better run a series of
microsections to make sure.
All right, Quince,
but from the decomposed
condition of the tissues,
we won't be able to
get any frozen sections.
We'll have to embed
the tissues in paraffin.
- That'll take hours.
- Sorry, Quince.
Well, let's not waste
time talking about it.
I'll let you do it.
Here they are, Quince.
Well, Sam, this
will tell the story.
Nothing. Give me another one.
Sam...
There it is.
Oh, Astin's string-pulling
really paid off this time.
Take a look!
That ought to be enough proof
of negligence by Doctor Shafer.
Let's go. Full photo series.
Eddie's all set to process them.
You still can't stop him
without a formal inquest.
We can try, Sam,
we can really try.
Where's Doctor Shafer?
He'll be in in a second.
He's scrubbing up.
Hey, how're you doing, Tompkins?
Ready to cut some tissue?
Well, what've we got here?
Here you go, sir.
It was a tough delivery.
It needed careful
use of the forceps.
Which Doctor Shafer's
done countless times.
Except this time, he
must've been drunk.
The baby had large indentations
on both sides of the skull.
They were made by
the tips of the forceps.
The pressure caused
severe brain damage.
It's indisputable.
Where's Doctor Shafer?
He's already gone into surgery.
Scalpel please.
Let's try that again.
What're you doing?
I'm sorry, Doctor, I
can't let you do this.
I'm sorry.
I see your two dollars.
Raise you two dollars.
See your two dollars
and raise you two dollars.
See your two dollars
and raise you two dollars.
I think you're bluffing.
- Try me.
- Monahan,
you know he doesn't bluff!
- Call.
- Whaddya got?
A pair of nines!
Beats my threes.
And he thought
you were bluffing!
I had you guys out, didn't I?
Hey, what happened
to that Shafer case
you guys were working on?
Well, the malpractice
insurance company
is settling with the families
of his two patients who died.
- That's terrific.
- And the Board of
Medical Quality Assurance
is pulling his license, they're
going to see what develops.
Well, that's the best anyone
can do under the circumstances.
- Voila!
- Quincy,
you're buying the drinks?
Yeah.
- What is this?
- You're a detective,
figure it out!
Lemonade?
What's the matter? Did
you lose your liquor license?
No, Doctor Quincy
wants to turn this place
into an ice cream parlor.
Are you kidding?
With this stuff?
For crying out
loud! Aw, come on!
Come on, fellas, listen,
I don't want to preach
and be a pain in the neck
but I figured if we gave
up booze for one night,
it might make us
aware of how much
we've been consuming lately.
What are we?
Potential alcoholics?
Isn't everybody?
- Health.
- Health.
Health.