“And the defense?”
“One . . .” He held up his index finger. “ . . . that there was no substantive delay and any gap in time between treatment was within the standard of care. And two . . .” He held up a second finger. “ . . . that even if there was a true eight-hour delay, the damage would have occurred regardless.” He took a sip from his glass. “I’m fairly confident that it was the causation theory that sealed the deal for us. Only an infectious disease doctor could testify on whether earlier antibiotic treatment would have made a difference. We had such an expert, and the plaintiff didn’t.”
“Who was the plaintiff’s lawyer?”
“Sean Calloway. He was a friend of the family and a local.” Knox winked. “But he’d never handled a medical malpractice case, and it showed.”
Jason gazed down at the picnic table, thinking of his own case and lack of experience handling criminal trials. Would he make a similar mistake in representing Jana?
“The family was too beholden to locals. They never should’ve let Braxton do that surgery. He was a good doctor, but they should’ve taken Trey to Birmingham. That’s just my opinion.”
“And they should’ve gotten a medical malpractice lawyer.”
“Yes, they should’ve. Sean argued the hell out of that case. He did a good job and made us sweat out the jury’s verdict. But, even if we would’ve lost the trial, I think we’d have gotten the verdict reversed due to his failure to have an infectious disease doc.”
“Why did the Cowans appeal?”
“Desperation. When their motion for new trial was denied, it was the last avenue they had. They took it, but it was no use. That trial transcript was as clean as a whistle.”
Jason gazed at the other attorney’s half-drunk beer, taking it all in and thinking of something else. “Did you hear anything about Dr. Waters having an affair with a CRNA at the hospital? A woman named Colleen Maples?”
Knox grinned. “Yes, I did. And I was scared to death that his relationship with the nurse anesthetist was going to steamroll our case.”
“Why?”
“Because they were heard arguing during the procedure. And when it was over, a nurse witnessed Braxton follow Maples down a hallway. She said the CRNA was crying.”
“Jesus. Did any of that come into evidence?”
“No,” Knox said. “Because the lawsuit centered around improper follow-up after the surgery and not anything that occurred during the surgery, we argued that any evidence of their personal relationship or an argument between them would be overly prejudicial.”
“But did the argument have anything to do with why Braxton failed to follow up? Could he have been distracted?”
Knox grabbed his pint glass again with both hands and turned it back and forth in his hands. “Braxton denied that allegation.”
“And Maples?”
“She said she couldn’t remember what happened after the surgery.”
“Did she deny an affair?”
“Yes. So did he.”
Jason snorted. “Well, she perjured herself. She’s now admitted to an affair in her statement to the police in our case.”
“Not necessarily,” Knox said. “The sexual relationship could have started after the malpractice case.”
Jason raised his eyebrows. The crusty attorney’s explanation was slippery and smart. And probably what Colleen Maples will say . . .
“But, I’ll tell you, Mr. 1-800 Get Rich, I was worried as hell that she was going to change her tune at trial. Sean put her on his witness list, and when she was called to the stand, I held my breath when he asked her if she could remember anything about the day of surgery.”
“But she stuck to her guns,” Jason said.
“Yes, she did,” Knox said.
“So, thinking back on it, what do you think happened?”
“Off the record?”
“Yes.”
“I think he was screwing her brains out and they were in a lover’s quarrel during the surgery. I think their fight did cause him to be distracted, and he failed to properly delegate his responsibilities to his PA, who didn’t do a timely follow-up.”
“But it didn’t matter, because antibiotics earlier wouldn’t have made a difference,” Jason said.
“So said our infectious disease doctor . . . who we paid $1,000 an hour to testify.”
“You don’t believe him.”
“I believe his opinions were supported by the medicine, yes. But . . . there was an argument to be made on the other side, and if it had been made . . .”