Quincy M.E. (1976–1983): Season 5, Episode 19 - T.K.O. - full transcript

An incompetent surgeon performing operations in his ill-equipped office causes the deaths of a boxer and a chef.

Why don't they stop it?

If my right cross didn't
kill Clarence, what did?

You killed Clarence and we
never want to see you again.

We're losing him, Saunders!

Where are you going?

I'm gonna find out how a man
can go into a surgeon's office,

in apparent good health, and in a
few hours be wheeled out in a coma.

Alfredo's dead.

I don't have to stand here
in my own place of business

and listen to your
groundless insinuations!

- You're accusing the doctor?
- He's the doctor
that let Alfredo die.



Gentlemen, you
are about to enter

the most fascinating
sphere of police work,

the world of forensic medicine.

Mmm-mmm. It is delicious.

What'd I tell you?
This guy's a genius.

It's outstanding. What
do they call this stuff?

That stuff is called
cannelloni Alfredo.

I forgot you were Italian.

Alfredo really outdid himself.

Hey, you know,
I got a good idea.

Let's bring him out here and
give him a goin' away party, huh?

Where's he going?

He's goin' in the hospital.
He's gonna get an operation.

- Hey, Johnny.
- Yeah?



Will you call the chef out here?

We wanna pay him his
compliments in person.

Okay, I'll get him.

Quincy and Danny don't
know what they're missing.

Here we are having
cannelloni Alfredo

and watchin' the same
fight they have to pay for.

Hey, Alfie, sit down.

Hey, Johnny, bring him
some refreshment, will you?

No thanks. I have to
get back to the kitchen.

Hey, this is delicious.

- Hey, are you all right?
- Yeah, I'm okay.

After the surgery
tomorrow, I'll be a new man.

Well, I'm glad you're
gettin' that hernia worked on.

Hey, you gotta tell
us where you are.

We'll come and visit
you in the hospital.

I'm not goin' to a hospital.

You mean you're
not stayin' overnight?

No, it's all gonna be done in
an office. No hospital, period.

- What?
- Yeah.

It sounds a little funny,
but it's strictly kosher.

Yeah. The surgeon's
one of the best.

He says it's gonna be like
a piece of cake. Just routine.

And I won't have to fill
out all those forms either.

Besides, it's cheaper.

Well, you have insurance
anyway, don't you?

Yeah, but it doesn't
cover everything.

It's gonna cost me half
what it would at the hospital.

Hey, you know
what I just realized?

Is Danny doing the
cooking while you're away?

Only for a couple of days.

Ooh. Heartburn, here we come.

I have to go back
to the kitchen.

- Okay, see you later.
- Alfie, nice seein' you.

Oh! look at that.

Seven, eight, nine, ten.

That's two out of two. You know
I love your company, Quincy.

You ought to lay off a
sport you don't understand.

You win two bets and
you think you're a hotshot.

When it comes to boxing,
I'm a definitive authority.

Is that right, Mr. Cosell?

I tell you what,
I'll bet you $20

that I know the shortest heavyweight
championship bout ever fought,

and you don't.

Everybody knows, the
second Schmeling-Louis fight.

- $20 bet. Is it on or not?
- Yeah.

Okay, you lose. It was
Foreman versus Joe Roman.

Foreman was two minutes
in the first round, Tokyo, 1973.

Quincy, are you sure?

Would I lie about a thing
like that? Come on, let's go.

Sorry to correct you, sonny.

But it was Burns decked Roche in
128 of the first round. Dublin, 1908.

Are you sure?

Of course I'm sure.
I was in the fifth row.

Who do you like in the next
fight? Hester or Mitchell?

I gotta tell you, I'm gonna
take youth over experience.

If you don't mind my saying it.

Hester? He's not even in the
same league. Only eight pro fights.

And six knockouts. He's
got a mean uppercut.

That's right. I gotta go with the kid,
but I want odds. I want 3-to-1. Okay?

- You know Vegas has it 7-to-2.
- 7-to-2.

Have some popcorn.

For the title bout
coming up the aisle.

I'm gonna win it for you, Mama.

What'd I tell you? Five rounds and
Mitchell hasn't laid a glove on him.

Okay, I'll admit your boy
can dance, but can he punch?

- Are you kiddin'?
- Oh, he can punch, all right.

He had the best teacher around.

- Who's that?
- Kenny Mitchell.

The kid's in there
fightin' his idol.

I didn't know that.

Well, I got the strong feelin' that
this pupil's gonna get his first lesson.

We'll see. We'll see.

Let's go. Let's go.
Come on. Come on.

Come on. Stay off the ropes, like I
told you. Stop dropping your guard.

What's wrong with you?
Worried about your good looks?

Come on, he's just as tired
as you are. Go after him.

- How's my nose?
- Your nose is all right.

You don't want to let your mom
down? Come on, she's sitting out there.

You gotta go after them points.

Why don't they stop it?

It's all right, Mama. Clarence
is doin' just fine. He's doin' fine.

Go get 'em!

One, two, three, four, five,

six, seven, eight, nine, ten.

And out!

All right!

It's all right, Mama.

It's over. Clarence won.

I'm gonna go see
if Kenny's all right.

We did it, Mama. We did it.

Kenny! Kenny!

It's okay. Let her through.

You know who that is?

That's the champ's sister.

And the winner is Hester!

Next time, stick to a sport
you know a little bit about.

- It's a pleasure
to take your money.
- Give me my popcorn.

Congratulations.

I mean, that was the best
I've ever seen you box.

What'd you do? Throw the fight?

Well, I should have, mister.
It would have hurt a lot less.

- Are you all right?
- Yeah.

How's your nose?

Aw. It'll be sore for a while,
along with the rest of me.

Kenny, I don't...

I don't know how to
say this to you, man.

I really went after you
tonight and I'm sorry.

Hey, man, look, I was wrong.

You've got the killer instinct.

Well,

goodnight, champ.

Good night, Kenny.

Come here.

Get out of here. Tell
your sister I'll see her later.

Yeah, okay.

I tell you, the kid
was poetry in motion.

You're not just saying that 'cause
you cleaned up on him last Sunday.

No, I've seen a lot
of fighters in my time.

I know a flicker of greatness
when I see it. That kid's got it.

But what a way to take
the title, from his mentor.

Well, well, well. I've
done it again. I really have.

I have something here
that is absolutely fantastic.

A solution to our
long-standing dispute.

- Two plane tickets to Jamaica?
- Come on.

- What is it?
- Something to
increase the efficiency

of medical legal investigation
in this county 100%.

- Does it chop
onions without tears?
- Ta-da.

- What is it?
- Electronic pager.

See, if you're
gallivanting anywhere

within a 30-mile radius
and I need you, I just beep.

- I don't think I
want one of those.
- Sure you do.

You'll love it. Come
on, step forward.

- Well, what are you,
a French general?
- Listen,

I just dial a certain number, it
activates the machine, and you call me.

- Day or night?
- Well, whenever it beeps.

I mean, just think of it as
your boss away from the office.

Terrific, huh?

My boss away from the office?

Yes?

What do you mean, yes? You called
me on that cockamamie thing, didn't you?

Hey! Came through loud and
clear, didn't it? That's terrific!

Don't say it.

Well, I was just testing to see if
I could reach you at the marina.

You said it.

Quincy, if I woke you up, I'm
sorry. You can go back to sleep now.

Boy, that's terrific!

Hey, now I remember
that face, from the papers.

- You're the kid who
beat Mitchell last week!
- Uh, yeah.

Well? Is this car
everything I said it was?

Big success like you has
gotta go first class. This is you.

Yeah.

I think I'll go
ahead and take it.

Wise choice. You got all
the room you'll ever need.

Oh, it's not for me.
It's for my mother.

- She's never had a new car.
- I wish my kid
would think like that.

Well, come on.
Let's go and write...

Hey, are you all right?

Oh, no, it's nothin'. I always get
headaches like this after a fight.

Oh.

Get a doctor, somebody.
Hurry it up. Come on.

I can't understand it, Sam.

A few days ago, this kid, pound for
pound, was stronger than a brahma bull.

What could've brought him down?

He collapsed at a
car lot around noon.

He was already in a coma
when the paramedics got to him.

Did the hospital find anything?

They didn't have much time.
He was there less than an hour.

They diagnosed him in sepsis.

Unspecified infection.

They also diagnosed disseminated
intravascular coagulation, DIC syndrome.

- It sounds like
an overwhelming infection.
- Mmm-hmm.

Let's start.

Cyanosis consistent with
cardiopulmonary failure,

petechial hemorrhages
over the skin.

What about this
injury to the nose?

That was Mitchell's
swing in the twelfth.

It took a lot of guts for
this kid to get out there

and go another round
with this kind of damage.

- Let's take
a look at the brain.
- All right.

Well, there's nothing in the tox
except the drugs the paramedics used.

The sinus secretions show a
gram-negative coccal infection.

It's beginning to fit together.

Encapsulated spherical
bacteria, gram negative,

arranged in pairs.

They look like little biscuits.
What kind of bacteria is this?

Meningococci.

He died of meningitis?

Don't they go through a
whole physical before a fight?

Sure, but the meningitis
might've been undetectable,

even nonexistent a week ago.
Let's take a look at the x-rays.

Wow.

The kid took more of a
wallop than I thought he did.

Look at this fracture
of the ethmoid sinus.

Yeah. And it leads right
into the anterior fossa.

And on the other
side, the brain.

It's a craniosinus fistula,

a tiny passageway
that the blow opened

between the nasal
cavity and the brain cavity.

Well, that explains
the infection.

Well, it's a two-way street.

The infection went from
low grade sinus organism

to a deadly colony of bacteria
covering the surface of the brain.

So what finally is
the cause of death?

Well, the direct cause is
septicemia from the basal meningitis.

But it resulted from the trauma of
the fight. Now, it took a few days,

but the punch that Mitchell
threw, that's the real killer.

Huh.

Thank you very much, Dr. Asten.

And again, these findings are preliminary,
as long as you understand that.

I understand, Doctor. Thank you.

Mom, I hope it's okay. Kenny's
coming by to pay his respects.

It means a lot to him.

No.

What?

It's not okay.

In fact, it's not okay for him to
ever set foot into this house again.

It disgraces the
memory of your brother.

Mama, what's gotten into you?

I want you to have seen
the last of Kenny Mitchell.

But you know how I feel
about Kenny, about our plans.

What are you trying to do to me?

If that's him, Katya, I
want you to send him away.

Mrs. Hester,

these are for you,

in memory of Clarence.

Turn right around and walk
out the way you came in.

Mama.

Is something wrong?

Whatever it is, Mama,
I want to hear it now.

I just called a Dr. Asten
in the Coroner's Office.

- They figured out
why Clarence died.
- It wasn't the meningitis?

It developed because of a
fracture he got in the fight.

No, it was a disease! Kenny
had nothing to do with it.

You killed Clarence and we
never want to see you again.

Mrs. Hester, don't
do this to us, please.

- You killed my boy!
- I loved your son, ma'am.

I loved him like he was my
own brother, you know that.

- Kenny, just go. Please.
- No, honey. Let me talk to your mother.

Katya is all I have, Mr. Mitchell,
and you're not taking her away.

Please, Kenny, just go.

Wow.

Keep 'em.

Someday I'm gonna
add this up once right.

I gotta be going now, Danny,
but I'll try to be back tomorrow.

The man's having surgery and
he's worried about comin' to work.

I made enough spaghetti
sauce to hold you over.

Thanks, Alfie. You
gonna be all right?

I guess, a little nervous.

Now if you need anything,
anything at all, you call me, okay?

Okay, Danny.

And don't worry
about the kitchen.

Where's our
Florence Nightingale?

She flew the coop.

- Come on,
Chaffey, where is she?
- She's gone.

The unemployment office called to
confirm her story that she was laid-off.

She walked out on me?

With no warning?

I've got a hernia, I've got a
nose job, I've got a chin tuck.

- And on top of that she
asks me to lie for her?
- Easy.

I can have a nurse
here in a couple of hours.

I have somebody coming in
here at 11:00 for a hernia repair.

So? Postpone it.
What's the big deal?

Sure. Just the way a
surgeon inspires confidence.

Oh, all right, we're gonna
do it without a nurse.

You sure you need me?

- Chaffey, just do your job.
- No problem.

I've only got one.

When I put this mask over your face, I
want you to relax, take a deep breath.

You'll start to feel
drowsy. Don't fight it, okay?

Next thing you know,
the surgery will be all done

and you'll be in the
recovery room, okay?

Okay.

Nothing will hurt?

No, Mr. Carlotti, that's why
I'm here, okay. Now just relax.

Here we go.

I'm tellin' you, Sam, I
got to get rid of this thing!

- I'm gonna roof it!
- Really gettin' to you, huh?

It's drivin' me crazy. He beeped
me in the middle of a movie last night

to remind me about
a staff meeting.

If Asten thinks it's so terrific,
why doesn't he carry one?

He does. He started carrying
one the day you got yours.

Dr. Quincy, there's a Kenny
Mitchell here to see you.

- The fighter?
- I think so.

- Send him over.
- Okay.

Blood pressure 160 over
110. We're ready, Doc.

I'd just like to see her try to get
work from any doctor that I know.

- She's gonna
regret this, Chaffey.
- Could we get on with this?

- I'm Dr. Quincy.
- I'm Kenny Mitchell.

I know. I saw you box
Sunday. Sit down, please.

I lost more than a
fight that night, Doctor.

I want you to know that
Clarence was like a brother to me.

I know. I understand you brought
him along, that you trained him.

Yeah, even before I turned a pro, he
was always hangin' around the gym,

learnin' everything
he could about boxing.

There were some dudes always
leanin' on him, and I took care of 'em.

Ever since then, I was
some kind of hero to him.

Some hero, huh?

I think you're being
very hard on yourself.

You said I killed him, right?

My findings show
a defect in the skull

caused during the fight,
which led to a bacterial infection.

- Now, that's what killed him.
- I didn't hit him that hard.

He didn't get a nosebleed
from the altitude.

You were there that night.

You saw how he had my
whole offense figured out.

He was blockin' and slippin'
just like I trained him to.

I only hit him good twice and
both of them were on the chin.

All right, I hit him in the nose,
too, but there was nothin' to it.

He was backin' away
from me at the time.

Now isn't there some chance that
something else could've caused it?

Of course, there's always a chance,
but I think you're grasping at straws.

All right. Thank you.

Mr. Mitchell, I'll take a
look at the film of the fight.

I can't guarantee you anything,
but I will promise you this.

- I won't give
you a quick count.
- All right.

- Thanks.
- Okay.

Blood pressure?

130 over 80.

- How's it at your end?
- Almost done.

You know, you wouldn't believe
what some hospitals charge

for a herniorrhaphy like this.

Of course, they do have
a little more overhead.

Oh, come on, Chaffey.
You make out like a bandit.

Don't get self-righteous on me.

Problem?

I don't know.

Yeah, problems.

Pressure's dropping. 90
over 50. We're getting V-tach.

I'll give him 100
milligrams of lidocaine.

The breathing's shallow.
I'm increasing oxygen.

What's his blood pressure?

He's in V-fib. I better
get the defibrillator.

Let's get the receptionist
in here, she can help.

Susan!

Susan, bag him.

1-1,000, 2-1,000,
3-1,000, 4-1,000.

- Clear!
- 5-1,000.

- Clear!
- 1-1,000.

Hit it again, Doc! Come on!

Hit him again.

Something's wrong!
There's no juice. It's dead!

It's the batteries!

- The damn batteries are shot.
- Shut up!

You can't go on recharging
these things forever!

1-1,000, 2-1,000,
3-1,000, 4-1,000, 5-1,000.

1-1,000... We're
losing him, Saunders!

No blood pressure. No pulse.

Yeah.

Really? Send him in, will you?

- Danny's on his way in.
- Danny! I wonder what he wants.

- This is what you
wanted on the Mitchell case.
- Yeah.

It's like that one punch
destroyed both fighters' lives, huh?

Yeah, in one night, the man loses
his best friend and a grip on his career.

- Hi, Danny.
- Well, look who's here.

The man who said, "I would
never set foot in a morgue."

To what do we owe
the honor of this...

What's the matter?

It's all crazy, Quincy.

It was supposed to be a snap.

What are you talkin' about?

Alfredo, my chef.

He went in for a
hernia operation.

Nothing to it, they said.

Anything go wrong?

Alfredo's dead.

I've never seen
Danny so distraught.

Maybe it was the stress of the
operation that took Carlotti over.

The hernia repair looks
pretty clean, no hemorrhage.

So what do you think
triggered fibrillation?

We may never know what
made his heart stop functioning.

But right now, I'm much more
interested in what was done about it

than what triggered it.

The heart is somewhat enlarged.

A moderate degree of coronary
arterial narrowing of all branches.

Maybe a little too much
of his own rich cooking.

Yeah, and too little exercise.

There's evidence of a
recent anteroseptal infarct.

Predates the operation.

- Any history of heart
problems in the file?
- No. Nothing.

Maybe he didn't tell his doctor.

Well, what's their version?

Well, according to this report,

he went into spontaneous
ventricular fibrillation,

they treated him with lidocaine,
used a defibrillator repeatedly.

They said they used a
defibrillator repeatedly?

Well, that's what it says.

Then how come there's only
one set of burns from the paddles?

But a defibrillator paddle doesn't
always leave a burn, does it?

Sam, if it is used properly and
perfect contact is made with the skin,

there doesn't have
to be any burns at all.

Look at this hair.

They didn't shave the man's chest.
There's no way to get full contact.

So some markings are inevitable.

It'd be hard to hit
exactly the same spot.

No. I'm tellin' you, either the doctor
panicked and only used the unit once,

or it malfunctioned and he
wasn't able to use it again.

Okay, if it did malfunction,

how else could they have brought
the heartbeat back to normal?

They couldn't. Lidocaine won't
work without effective circulation.

It's a catch-22 situation.

- I'll see you later.
- What?

Where are you going?

I'm gonna find out how a man
can go into a surgeon's office,

in apparent good health, and in a
few hours be wheeled out in a coma.

What kind of surgery do
you perform here, Doctor?

Well, mainly cosmetic
and reconstructive surgery,

that's most of it.

Mr. Carlotti came to
you for a hernia repair.

Yes. I'm quite capable of performing a
number of different surgical procedures

safely and at a minimal
cost to my patients.

- This is your crash cart?
- Yes, that's right.

- What about back-up oxygen?
- We have additional tanks.

- And regulators, too?
- Oh, we've never needed them.

How about an
emergency generator?

Doctor, if this room were
equipped exactly like a hospital,

then we would be charging
hospital rates. We're not.

Are you telling me you're
willing to compromise

the physical welfare of your
patients because of the cost?

I never said anything to you about
compromising my patients in any way.

Where is the nearest
emergency facility?

You know, Doctor, I agreed to
see you as a professional courtesy,

one doctor to another.

I don't have to stand here
in my own place of business

and listen to your
groundless insinuations!

They're not insinuations. They're questions
that have to be answered sooner or later.

There is an emergency
facility at Colorado and Eighth.

Eighth and Colorado! How far is
that? What, three miles? More?

What do you do if you have to
get somebody to the hospital fast?

I've been very reasonable
with you, Doctor.

Now please, don't force
me to throw you out.

Just one more question.

As a doctor, wouldn't you feel
more comfortable performing surgery

with every possible
life-saving tool at hand?

90% of all my business, Doctor, is
rhinoplasties, facelifts and cyst removal,

that kind of thing.

I see no reason to squander my
patients' money on unnecessary frills.

Really? And what
about the other 10%?

If Mr. Carlotti had had some of
those frills, he might still be alive.

Quincy, do you have
anything on that Mitchell case?

I haven't gotten back to it yet.

You know, you're really
useless to me this way.

You're so fired up over Alfredo's
death, nothing's getting accomplished.

Don't you understand?
It's not just Alfredo's death.

It's how casual
surgery has become.

How many preventable
deaths go undetected?

A patient dies in
a doctor's office,

the doctor signs the death
certificate, that could be that.

I think you're making a wholesale
indictment of all office surgery

without knowing the facts.

Now, I mean oral
surgery, cosmetic surgery,

may be perfectly
appropriate in an office.

And there's tremendous
economic advantages to the patient.

All I see are the disadvantages.

- Oh, really?
- Yeah.

You know, the best teacher in my med
class, now I mean the best, Andy Reynolds.

- Do you know him?
- No.

Well, he runs an
ambulatory service facility

that I hear is very
highly regarded.

You know, he could give you a
clear picture of this whole issue.

- Could you set up a meeting?
- Yes, I could.

I'll get Andy out here.
He owes me one.

Anything to get you
back to work. Okay?

Okay.

You haven't
forgotten your beeper?

I've got it. I've
got it right here.

- Sam.
- Yeah?

If anybody needs me, I'll be in
my office with a Dr. Reynolds.

And listen, hide this, will you? I
just switched beepers with Asten.

- You what?
- Yeah. The next time
his secretary beeps me,

she'll be beeping him. And the next
time, and the next time, and the next time.

And you're hopin' he'll give up the
whole idea before he figures it out?

Can you think of a better way?

- How do you take your coffee,
Dr. Reynolds?
- Black's fine. Thank you.

Dr. Asten tells me you
run an office surgery facility.

Yes.

We like to think we have two of the
best equipped operating rooms in the city.

My partner and I
do the operations,

mostly cosmetic and
reconstructive plastic surgery.

Doctor, how safe is it to
perform surgery in an office?

If it wasn't quite
safe, we wouldn't do it.

In six years, we've never
had a crisis we couldn't handle.

- No malpractice suits? No patients lost?
- None.

- Maybe because you were lucky.
- Oh, no.

Luck had nothing to do with it. We
screen our surgical cases very carefully.

There are a lot of patients we
refuse to do surgery on in the office.

Well, I don't know whether Dr. Asten told
you, but we lost a friend a few days ago

from a heart attack while undergoing
surgery for a hernia in an office.

I don't think he
should have died.

- Have you seen
the place where it was done?
- Yes, I have.

It's hardly adequate for routine surgery,
let alone for catastrophic emergencies.

Now, how does
something like that go on?

No regulation. That's a
good part of the answer.

No city, no county, no state,

not even federal government
health agencies have any jurisdiction.

No minimum standard
that has to be met?

Let me put it to you this way.

If a health inspector goes
into an office surgery building,

he's there to inspect the
restaurant in the lobby,

not the doctor's
operating rooms.

Quincy, even if a man is refused
surgical privileges in a hospital,

he can still open up
shop and perform surgery.

No minimum standards?
No mandatory equipment?

Right.

How many places
like this are there?

Well, in my specialty,
plastic surgery,

there are about 600 nationwide,
all accredited one way or another.

What about those that don't
bother to seek accreditation?

Runs into the thousands.

Add to those the dentists'
offices where surgery is performed,

and you've got one hell of
a lot of unregulated surgery.

Okay.

You run an ambulatory service.

Are you saying you would
welcome government standards?

Not particularly. But
self-regulation just doesn't work.

The good doctors join,
the bad doctors don't.

What do you think would work?

I'll tell you what
I think will work.

There's a bill pending before
the state legislature right now.

It just might begin to
set some standards.

I'm due in Sacramento tomorrow
morning to testify before the committee.

You wouldn't like to
join me, would you?

Me? Oh, I couldn't get away.

I'm between the rock and the hard
place with Dr. Asten the way it is.

But I sure would like
to know what happens.

Well, I'm not gonna leave
before 9:00 tomorrow morning

so if you change your
mind, give me a call.

- Thank you very
much for coming.
- You're welcome. Goodbye.

- You ready, Quince?
- Yeah, go ahead.

Okay.

This is the end of the twelfth round.
I've watched this thing 20 times.

The only punch to the nose
is coming up right about now.

Hold it! Roll it back.

Now forward. Freeze it!

- Are you sure
that was the punch?
- Right.

And you can see he's
leanin' away from it.

You're right. There
was no power behind it.

Certainly not enough
to cause what we saw.

- Unless...
- Unless what?

Dr. Quincy, if my right cross
didn't kill Clarence, what did?

Sam, get Hester's body ready.
I wanna take another look at it.

Sure thing.

Roll it forward, will you?

You still haven't told me
what we're looking for.

There are ways to analyze an injury, and
then there are ways to analyze an injury.

We've got two pages on the
skull fracture alone in our report.

We've got x-rays from
every conceivable angle.

Almost.

- What did we miss?
- The view from the inside.

Come here, Sam, I'll show you.

Here's what I wanna do.

I'm gonna cut a block here, lift it
out and look at it from the underside.

- I guess we're guilty again.
- Of what?

Of just being thorough.

Looks like someone's
been doing some sculpting.

Yeah. To correct a deviated
septum and nasal obstruction.

Why wasn't there any
external evidence of surgery?

Well, it's always performed
through the nostrils.

Apparently the
surgeon chipped away

at several bone plates that were
interfering with Clarence's breathing.

I thought that was a
fairly routine operation.

It would've been,
except for one thing.

He chiseled too much bone
away from the front part. See?

Leaving a sharp
edge in the back.

So when Mitchell
hit him in the nose, it

was like sticking a
dagger into his sinuses.

Even though there was
no power behind his punch.

No wonder the nasal bacteria
was forced into the brain.

- We better tell
Asten about this.
- Yeah.

And I wanna know
who his doctor was.

You're accusing the doctor?

I hope you realize what a
serious charge you're making.

The evidence talks
a lot louder than I do.

I spoke to the mother, Quince. She
confirms the nose surgery on her son.

- About six months ago.
- Where was it done?

At a private facility and the
doctor was Jason Saunders.

Jason Saunders!

He's the doctor
that let Alfredo die.

Look, I'm not askin' you or your
mother to take my word for it.

You believed the coroner when
it really looked like it was my fault.

Dr. Quincy says that it
was the surgery on his nose

that caused the real damage,
and that was months ago.

Why can't you believe him now?

Kenny, I do believe you.

I never stopped loving you.

But Mama. Even if
she saw us sitting here...

Yeah. Yeah. Katya, you've
got to make her understand.

I don't mean just
about the fight

but about my
influence on Clarence.

I mean, I spent more damn time
talkin' to him about his going to college

than his counselors did.

He made his own decisions, right?
And your mother has got to know that.

I don't know, Kenny. Maybe
we ought to just run away.

Yeah, and have your mother believe
that I've taken both of her children?

Uh-uh. No, thank you.

I know from Clarence just how
proud a woman your mother is.

And I know it's not gonna be easy
for her to change her mind about me.

But if you and me are going
to have any kind of a chance,

she's got to know that
I didn't kill Clarence,

and I don't mean up here,
honey, I mean in her heart.

Sam, where's Quincy? I've been
trying to beep him all morning.

You know this blasted
thing keeps beeping my unit?

I called my wife three times,
thinking she was trying to reach me.

- Your wife?
- Well, she's on
the other end of the bleeper.

The beeper. She
controls... Where is Quincy?

Oh, he was in earlier, working on
a case, but he left 45 minutes ago.

Do you know if he
took his beeper?

Well, I'm pretty
sure he did, yeah.

Well, I'm having Robin
page him right now.

- I don't think it's
going to do you much good.
- Why not?

He's on a plane to Sacramento.

Dr. Reynolds. Hoisted
with my own petard.

- What's that?
- Well, I practically
helped him get away.

- Where are you going?
- Medical supply house. I'm under orders.

Orders? Whose orders? As if I
didn't know. You are not leaving...

You are not...

Sam.

Sam.

Too often, I think, we forget

that the private physician
is a businessman, too.

And as such, should be accorded the
same rights granted to other businessmen

within our system
of free enterprise.

How many times are we
going to permit ourselves

to be fooled by those who promise
that a maze of government regulations

is the answer to
protecting the consumer?

I would remind you that hospital
costs are soaring out of sight.

I'm glad you decided to make it.

I thought a lot about what
you said. I felt I had to come.

You haven't missed much.

It's the same line they've
been buying for years.

Yeah. We'll just have to
sell them a new line, that's all.

If you shackle the office surgeon with
unnecessary expenses and paperwork,

he'll be forced to raise his
prices. Is that what we want?

None of us thought
Sandra needed a nose job,

but she was so insistent.

While they were operating,

blood began to leak down
her windpipe into her lungs.

It took a long time before anybody
realized what was happening.

She... She went into convulsions

and by the time the ambulance
got her to the hospital,

there was nothing
anyone could do.

She never came out of the coma.

Lab, Fujiyama.

I got your message,
Sam. What do you have?

Plenty, Quince. First, you
were right on the button

about the defibrillator you
saw being a new acquisition.

Saunders didn't order it till
the morning after Alfredo died.

- Are you sure?
- There's more.

He traded his old unit at the same
time. It's sitting in front of me now.

They even found
the old batteries.

I tried recharging them, but
they wouldn't hold a charge.

The one set of burns we found.

Yeah. And the paddle
size matches it perfectly.

Good work, Sam.

Okay, Quince, you take care now.

Maybe I'm biting the
hand that feeds me.

I wish it were as simple as voluntary
compliance with certain minimal standards.

Now, I've been on
accreditation boards,

and they're a step
in the right direction,

but they must be backed up
with mandatory regulations.

Thank you, Dr. Reynolds.

I brought a colleague with me.

Dr. Quincy, a senior medical
examiner from LA County.

Dr. Quincy, keep it brief,
but speak your mind.

Everybody else has.

As Dr. Reynolds said, I'm a
medical examiner from Los Angeles.

And I've got a complaint.

Business has been too good,

and I'd like to get your help
in driving some of it away.

Among those who came
to my table this past week

there were two who
shouldn't have been there.

One was a young fighter
who was going for the moon

but he'll never make it
because of a punch he didn't see.

But then, it didn't come
from another fighter.

It came from a
surgeon in his office.

The second was a cook, a friend,

who also died unnecessarily
in the same surgeon's office.

He died because a battery
gave way in a defibrillator.

A life for a defective battery.

That must never happen again.

Now, nobody wants to
eliminate office surgery,

it fulfills a vital function.

And a vast majority
of the doctors

are performing professional
services at reasonable rates.

But somebody has
to protect that fighter,

and somebody has
to protect that cook,

and that teenager who wants
a cuter nose and us! Yes, us!

The slightly aging who believe that
a little tuck here and a little tuck there

will give us back some of our
youth. We deserve that protection.

Now, a doctor who is
not competent enough

to perform surgery below
the neck in a hospital,

is not competent enough to perform
surgery below the neck in his office

and we must see that
he is not allowed to!

The best, the very best
equipment should be mandatory.

Emergency facilities
should be close at hand,

and if we doctors can't or won't regulate
ourselves, then you have to step in.

And it is your
job, it is your duty,

it is your obligation to the
people who put you in office.

Thank you.

How are you at dinner dishes?

You mean can I wash dishes?

That's what I'm askin'.

Yeah. Yeah, sure.

I ain't too bad
at sewing either.

I just don't want my daughter
gettin' mixed up with no man

who can't or won't
help around the house.

Oh, yes, ma'am.
I just love dishes.

And I love your
daughter, too, Mrs. Hester.

I really do.

Come on in, Kenny, Come on.

- Are you sure?
- Mitchell's a cinch
to win back the title.

He's given away 10 pounds.
He's got a shorter reach.

Look, I know Mitchell's gonna win
but I don't know about the first round.

Come on, Rodriguez has got a
glass jaw. It's Mitchell in the first.

Okay, Gladys, let's go.

All right, fellas, Gladys
says it's Mitchell in the first.

We're lookin' for some
Rodriguez money. Any takers?

- Come on, guys. I'm sometimes wrong.
- Yeah.

Which way are you goin', Quincy?

Are you kidding?
I'm with Gladys.

Then I'll take
Rodriguez. Here's 10.

- I'm good for 5.
- Oh, a big spender.

- Put me in for 5.
- All right, here's 2.

Another big spender.

Just keep the cash where
we can see it, granny.

Don't worry about it. Here.

Diane, I want you to
hold the bet money, okay?

I'll guard it with my life.

Okay, the fight's
startin', let's go. Okay.

They're touching gloves
in the center of the ring.

And Rodriguez lands first, just a
pawing left hand to feel out his opponent.

Mitchell comes back
with a little token left... Oh!

And a hard right hand, wow,
that famous sneak right hand

thrown by Mitchell.
He did it again.

Get up!

He feels the opponent will not
get up and he's not going to get up.

- Go get the money, honey.
- Diane,
bring the money, will you?

It's like I said, fellas. I'm
sometimes wrong, but not this time.

Is That yours?
Well, it's not mine.

- Come on, turn it off.
- Why did he
give me this thing?

- Let's get rid of it. Get rid of it.
- Good idea. Here you go.