It's Nothing Personal (31 page)

“Just so you know, Jenna, we have two
experts in the field that will testify on your behalf that reactivation is virtually
impossible.

“We also found out, since her settlement
with St. Augustine, Michelle Hollings moved into a brand new townhouse and quit
her job.
 
She’s also made some
interesting purchases, including a loaded Hummer SUV, a new Mustang
convertible, and a good deal of jewelry.
 
Not bad for someone with no education and no employment.”

Jenna was encouraged by Ms. Hollings’ less
than stellar lifestyle.
 
At least it
made Michelle Hollings look less like the poor, frail victim and more like what
Jenna now saw her as – a greedy good-for-nothing looking for the winning
lottery ticket.
 

“She also had plenty to say about you,”
Nancy added.
 
Jim and Nancy eyed
Jenna keenly, gauging her response.

Jenna raised her right eyebrow.
 
“What did she say?”

Nancy continued, “At the end of Michelle
Hollings’ deposition, Anders asked if you had ever apologized to her in any way
for her contracting hepatitis C.
 
Michelle Hollings said that you had not.
 
Anders then asked her whether she felt
that you had shown any sorrow or regret at your deposition.
 
Ms. Hollings said she never got that
impression from you.
 
In fact, she
said that your attitude during the deposition was so upsetting to her that she
had to leave.”

Nancy was playing Jenna.
 
She knew that fueling Jenna’s rage was
the key to keeping her in the game.
 

Jenna said harshly, “I was told,
explicitly
, by Randy Stevens, Rob
Wilson, and the two of you, not to contact her!
 
I’m sure Allison Anders knew I had been
given those instructions.
 
What did
she expect at my deposition?
 
Did
she think I was going to give Michelle Hollings a big hug and tell her how
sorry I was?
 
Anders knew I wasn’t
allowed to apologize, even if I wanted to.
 
And to use the rules of engagement against me?
 
Unbelievable!”

Burying her head in her hands, Jenna pleaded
with her attorneys, “Please, please tell me we’ve got a way to fight back.”

Jim was quick to reassure her, “Jenna, for
the past couple hours, you’ve been hearing
their
side.
 
Now, you get to hear
ours
.”

Jenna propped her elbows on the table,
giving her attorneys her full attention.
 
“Okay, show me what we’ve got.”

The edges of Jim’s lips turned up
slightly.
 
“Our first expert witness
is Dr. Phillip Ramano.
 
He is the
Chair of Anesthesia at Good Samaritan Hospital, right across town.
 
Dr. Ramano’s our ace-in-the-hole.
 
Basically, everything that Anders’
experts say against you, Dr. Ramano is prepared to testify otherwise.
 
Even though Dr. Ramano has never given
expert testimony before, he’s competent, well spoken, sincere, and a man of
principle.
 
These traits are immediately
apparent, and they will mean a great deal in the eyes of the jurors.”

Jenna could not believe what she was
hearing.
 
She had never crossed
paths with the doctor before, but Phillip Ramano was a Godsend.
 
After being bombarded with experts
intent on demonstrating her incompetence, finally there was someone who thought
differently.
 
For hours, Jenna had
listened to the bad things.
 
At last,
she began to feel hopeful.
 

Smiling, she asked with bewilderment, “Who
is this guy?
 
And why would he go
out on such a limb for me?”

Jim spoke softly, “Dr. Ramano is a good guy,
and he came to his conclusions on his own. He has told us flat out that he
doesn’t think you did anything wrong.”

Jenna was dumbstruck.
 
“I don’t know if it’s appropriate or if
you are allowed to relay communication between the two of us but, if you can,
can you please tell him thank you?”

She blinked rapidly to hold back tears.
 

Jim nodded, “We’ll make sure he knows.”
 

He paused for a moment to stretch his back
and then continued, “Our second expert is Dr. Richard Muzzani.
 
He’s a practicing anesthesiologist and
Professor of Anesthesia in Seattle.
 
Dr. Muzzani has testified as an expert witness numerous times, and he’s
very professional and convincing.
 

“Dr. Muzzani will testify that in 2010,
there was considerable debate about the acceptable means of storage and
security of controlled substances within the OR.
 
Furthermore, he will state that even
today, there is no established or nationally agreed upon standard of care.
 

“According to Dr. Muzzani, your practices
were the norm rather than the exception.
 
In fact, he will go so far as to say the that gold standard for an
anesthesiologist is to be prepared to take care of his or her patient,
including having all medications drawn up before the patient enters the room.

“He also intends to state unequivocally that
there was no way you could have foreseen Hillary Martin would engage in
criminal activity which would result in Ms. Hollings being infected with the
hepatitis C virus.”

Jim paused for a second while Jenna poured
herself a glass of water.
 
Her mouth
felt like cotton.

Nancy interposed, “With respect to the
remainder of Dr. Ramano’s and Dr. Muzzani’s testimony, their opinions are very
congruent.
 
That’s good because it
will demonstrate to the jury that two respected and practicing
anesthesiologists, one local and one not, agree with each other that you did
nothing wrong.
 

“Each of them will testify that placing the
medications in a drawer of the anesthesia cart and leaving them unattended was
consistent with the standard of care, because the OR was considered to be a
secure environment.
 

“Both doctors have reviewed the anesthesia
record for Ms. Hollings, and they agree that the record is consistent with
Michelle Hollings having received Fentanyl and not saline.

“Our experts have each read your
deposition.
 
They will testify,
contrary to what Anders and her experts might claim, anesthesiologists do not
have a duty to prevent diversion of controlled substances within the operating
room.
 
Furthermore, they will attest
that anesthesiologists are not expected to understand the myriad of DEA rules
and regulations regarding controlled substances.”

Jenna was about to speak when Nancy held her
hand up and grinned, “Wait!
 
There’s
more.”

“More?” Jenna asked, astonished.

Nancy beamed, “Our experts will testify that
anesthesiologists were not, in 2010, required to keep controlled substances
locked in the OR at all times, and that anesthesiologists were not responsible
for monitoring their drug cart at all times during a procedure.

“Furthermore, both doctors will state that
it is impossible to know, with reasonable medical probability, how Hillary
Martin transmitted her hepatitis C virus to Ms. Hollings.
 
It could have been a contaminated
syringe just as easily as it could have been contaminated saline used as an
irrigant during surgery.
 

“Finally, Drs. Muzzani and Ramano will
testify that diversion of controlled substances within the OR is not rampant,
and that your alleged ignorance of the prevalence of diversion in operating
rooms is not outside the standard of care.

“Both of these gentlemen feel very strongly
that Hillary Martin, not you, is to blame for Ms. Hollings’ development of
hepatitis C.”

Jenna simply shook her head.
 
At first, she could not believe two
doctors would come to her defense.
 
The specifics of how far they were willing to go left her dazed.
 

“Oh my God,” Jenna smiled.
 
“These guys are saying that everything
that Anders claims is complete nonsense.
 
I never would have expected such strong testimony.”

Jim said, “Jenna, there are people out
there, us included, who believe in you.
 
You just have to remind yourself to listen to them and not to the
opposition.”

Nancy looked over at Jenna, whose face was
full of confusion.
 
“Feeling a
little better about things now?”

“I . . . I don’t even know what to say.
 
Up until now, everything seemed so
bleak.
 
Now it suddenly feels like
things could possibly go in my favor.
 
I’m having a hard time absorbing it all.”
 

Nancy said warmly, “Jenna, why don’t we take
a short break?
 
Stretch our legs a
little bit?”

Jim stepped out to use the restroom.
 
Jenna headed out to do the same.
 
At the door, Nancy reached out for
Jenna’s arm and asked, “You okay?”
 

Before Jenna knew it, she had melted into
Nancy’s arms.
 
Pools of emotion poured
from Jenna’s soul.
 
After a couple
of minutes, Jenna backed away.
 

Between hiccups, Jenna replied, “Honestly, I
don’t even know where that came from.
 
I’m sorry.
 
You must think
I’m an emotional train wreck.”

Nancy put her hands on Jenna’s
shoulders.
 
“Not at all.
 
I think you’re human.
 
We may not be used to seeing that in our
professions, but we can still recognize it when we come across it.
 
You’re just a normal woman in a really
bad situation.
 
Now go take a quick
break, and then let’s get back to work.”

On her way out, Jenna whispered, “Thank
you.”

CHAPTER 44

In the ladies’ room, Jenna splashed cool
water on her face and blew her nose.
 
Five minutes later, she returned to the conference room.
 
Out of respect, Jim overlooked Jenna’s
bloodshot eyes and red nose.
 

Once Jenna took her seat, he resumed
outlining their lineup of expert witnesses.
 

“Getting back to our defense, Dr. Arlene
Myer is a nationally recognized hepatologist.
 
She will testify that hepatitis C could
have been transmitted to Ms. Hollings by either contaminated saline or
contaminated medication.
 

“Dr. Meyer will also state that Michelle
Hollings’ hepatitis infection is cured.
 
According to the doctor’s extensive experience, the fact that Ms.
Hollings has had no detectable virus since completion of her treatment
indicates that, without repeat exposure, there is essentially zero chance of
recurrence.
 
Furthermore, she will
state that Ms. Hollings has no current symptoms related to her prior infection
or its treatment.”

Jokingly, Jenna said, “Maybe I should have
asked to hear our side first.
 
Knowing all this, their case is starting to sound like a crock.
 
What else do you have?”

The irritation in Jenna’s eyes began to
clear.
 
Gradually, she appeared
calmer and more confident.

Nancy was openly grinning.
 
“It keeps getting better.
 
We have a psychologist that has reviewed
Michelle Hollings’ records.
 
According
to Dr. Joyce Boden, Ms. Hollings’ diagnoses of PTSD, panic disorder, and
anxiety disorder are not supported by her symptoms, and the criteria for
diagnosis of any of these disorders has not been met. ”

“Big shocker there,” interjected Jenna with
spite.

Nancy continued, “Dr. Boden will also
testify that any psychiatric symptoms that Ms. Hollings currently suffers from
are unrelated to her infection with hepatitis C.

“Our last expert witness is a human
resources vice president by the name of John Rhodes.
 
He has more than thirty years of experience
in hiring practices for large corporations.
 
Mr. Rhodes plans to testify that St.
Augustine Hospital was grossly negligent in its pre-employment investigation
and retention of Hillary Martin.

“More specifically, he will testify that St.
Augustine did not require Ms. Martin to account for gaps in her
employment.
 
These gaps should have
been red flags, and should have prompted further inquiry.
 
He will attest to the fact that St.
Augustine failed to contact the hospitals where Hillary Martin was employed in
the past, and they failed to do a criminal background check.
 

“Mr. Rhodes has harsh criticisms of St.
Augustine’s response to Hillary Martin’s employment health screening.
 
Martin stated on an employment screening
form that she was negative for a variety of infectious diseases, including
hepatitis C.
 
As we all know, her
pre-employment blood work showed otherwise.
 
Nothing was done to determine whether
Hillary Martin knowingly lied on her health screening.
 
She was never questioned with respect to
when and how she could have possibly become infected with the hepatitis C
virus.
 
Mr. Rhodes’ testimony will
show that a reasonable investigation should have either revealed her infection
was a result of intravenous drug use, and/or she falsified her pre-employment
screening form.
 
Either way, her job
offer should have been withdrawn.”