It's Nothing Personal (18 page)

Calmly, Jim said, “Let’s go through the
complaint and make sure you understand it in its entirety.
 
We reviewed it before you got here.
 
The first few pages are mundane
formalities, so we can skip past them.”

Jenna could see Jim’s mouth moving and hear
his voice, but she was not processing anything he said.
 
Scrambled thoughts plagued her
mind.
 
Jenna strained to focus on words
she could not bear to hear.
 
Slowly,
Jim’s voice registered and began to make sense.

“Next, we come to the ‘General Allegations’
section.
 
This is where they lay
down their case.”
 

For the next two hours, Jim reviewed the
seventy-five points it took for Allison Anders to painstakingly detail how
Jenna and St. Augustine had messed up at every turn.
 
According to the allegations, the
hospital failed to detect Hillary Martin’s diversion activities and drug
addiction.
 
Jenna failed to secure her
narcotics, leaving them vulnerable to Hillary Martin’s diversion practices.
 
Michelle Hollings contracted hepatitis C
because of their collective mistakes.
 
Both the hospital and Jenna were to blame, and Michelle Hollings
deserved to be compensated for her pain and suffering.

Seemingly, there was no shortage of pain and
suffering for Ms. Hollings.
 
According
to the complaint, her life had been utterly destroyed by her infection.
 
Required to take dozens of oral and
injectable medications each week, Ms. Hollings was traumatized by having to
inject herself with needles.
 
Side
effects of the therapy caused Ms. Hollings to suffer from constant joint pain,
drug-induced weight loss, flu-like symptoms, depression, and emotional and
physical exhaustion.
 
She was left
unable to function in either a professional or social capacity.
 
Obtaining affordable or effective health
insurance coverage would be an unattainable goal.
 

Jenna thought it could not get any
worse.
 
It did not seem like there
was anything left to ruin in Ms. Hollings’ life.
 
Jenna was sure that Jim had to be at the
end of the complaint, but the insults continued.
  

“Michelle Hollings lives in a state of
constant apprehension as to whether her contraction of hepatitis C will result
in cirrhosis, end-stage liver disease, the need for liver transplantation, or
even premature death.
 
She may never
be able to have children.”

Jenna stared at the malicious words in
disbelief.
  
She balled her
fists.
 
On the verge of tears, she
fought to hold back.

“Is that all?” she cried.
 

Jim promptly responded, “Jenna, I know it’s
hard to hear these allegations.
 
You
need to distance yourself.
 
Just
because they say these things, doesn’t make them true.
 
That’s why you have us.
 
One by one, we will expose their claims
for the nonsense that they are.”

Jim gave Jenna a minute to absorb all that
she had heard.
 
Knowing the next
part would likely be the most hurtful, he dreaded what he had to tell her
next.
 
Whatever trauma Michelle
Hollings had endured was mirrored in the devastated expression on Jenna’s face.

Forcing himself to forge ahead, Jim
continued, “The last part of the complaint lists the individual claims.
 
In total, St. Augustine is being sued
for eight different claims that range from negligent hiring practices to
reckless and intentional infliction of emotional distress.”

Jim proceeded to Jenna’s involvement, “You
are being sued for two claims.”

“Well, I guess that’s better than eight,”
Jenna said, helplessly.
 
“What are
they?”

“The first claim is for medical
negligence.
 
The claim states that
you had acquired Ms. Hollings’ trust and confidence, and you violated that
trust when you failed to ensure that your narcotics were adequately secured and
monitored.
 
It also asserts that you
failed to properly monitor Ms. Hollings’ level of pain and the effectiveness of
the Fentanyl prior to and during her operation.
 
They allege that as a direct and
proximate result of your negligence, Michelle Hollings has suffered injuries,
losses, and damages.”

Losses
and damages
.
 
The words
resonated in Jenna’s head.
 

Jim continued, “The second claim against you
is negligence per se.”

Jenna immediately asked, “What’s that?”

“Negligence per se means that you violated a
law or a rule.
 
It’s different than
medical negligence in that with medical negligence, the claim is that your
actions were below the standard of care.
 
That is, your actions deviated from what your peers would do under
similar circumstances.
 

“With negligence per se, the claim isn’t
that your actions failed to meet the standard of care, but that they violated a
law.
 
In this instance, it doesn’t
matter what your peers would do.

“What this claim states is that you violated
rules under the Controlled Substances Act.
 
The Act makes it unlawful for Schedule II controlled substances, such as
Fentanyl, to be stored in an unlocked, unmonitored, or otherwise unsecured
manner.”

Jenna flipped to the last page of the
twenty-six-page document.
 
Interrupting Jim, Jenna read aloud, her voice rising with disgust and
indignation with each passing word.

“Wherefore Michelle Hollings
prays
for judgment against Defendant St.
Augustine Hospital and Defendant Dr. Jenna Reiner, in an amount to be
determined by the trier of the fact, for compensatory damages in an amount
sufficient to compensate her for her losses as set forth above, special
damages, and for costs, expert witness’ fees, attorneys’ fees, filing fees,
pre-judgment interest, post-judgment interest, and such other further relief as
the Court may deem appropriate, just, and proper.”

Jenna threw the document on the table.
 
Her face was flaming red with disdain.

“Do we have to pay for her clothing and
meals, too?
 
Maybe she needs a
manicure before the trial!
 
We
better factor that in, as well.
 
Maybe
we should put her up in a five-star hotel while we’re at it.”
 
Jenna was yelling, not at her lawyers,
but at the document and the people behind it.

The degree of theatrics and lies astounded
Jenna.
 
Her initial feelings of
shame and guilt lifted and were replaced by anger, disbelief, and revulsion.

Jenna could imagine Allison Anders in some
ridiculous lawyer commercial.
  
“Have you or someone you love been
hurt by your physician?
 
Is your
life forever ruined because your doctor messed up?
 
Do you need a huge amount of cash to
ease your pain and suffering?
 
Well,
call the attorneys at AAA Money Sharks, and we will get justice and money for
you!”

Several hours had passed, but to Jenna, time
seemed to stand still.
 

Sadly, she confessed, “One thing they said
was absolutely true.
 
I did leave my
drugs unattended.
 
How can I
possibly defend that?”

Jim’s eyes brightened.
 
“That’s why you have us.”

CHAPTER 27

During the meeting, Jim had watched Jenna closely.
 
He was having a hard time reading
her.
 
When Jim had first seen her
looking out the window of the lobby, she had looked so vulnerable, so shocked,
so devastated.
 
Jenna still looked
that way, but there had been a very subtle, yet noticeable, shift.
 
Jim thought he saw a flicker of
feistiness in her eyes and an inner resolve that was starting to come to
life.
 

Nancy sensed it, too.
 
She had been observing Jenna’s expressions
as Jim meticulously reviewed the complaint.
 
Nancy saw the pain and humiliation in
Jenna’s face when she initially saw her name listed as “Defendant.”
 
There were moments when she was certain
Jenna was going to break down in tears, but she never did.
 
Nancy also noticed Jenna had moments
where she looked truly appalled and offended.
 
These were the emotions they needed to
foster in their client.
 

Jenna started to speak, but was embarrassed
by the smack of sticky, dried saliva as she opened and closed her mouth.
 
With tremulous hands, she reached for a
bottle of water from the center of the table and gulped its contents.
 

With her mouth no longer dry, she asked, “Where
do we go from here?
 
I need to know
what to expect.”
 
Jenna’s eyes
narrowed, and her lips pursed.
 
She
was regaining control.

“In the big picture,” Jim explained, “where
we go from here is a long, arduous process.
 
The next step is called discovery.
 
Formally, it’s where both sides request
information from a variety of sources, and we start to build the foundation for
our defense.
 
In actuality, mostly
it’s a period of bickering and jostling between opposing counsel.
 
Once we get toward the end of the
discovery period, depositions are taken.
 
Have you ever given a deposition?”

“No,” replied Jenna, with the innocence of a
child.
 
“Honestly, I’m not even sure
what a deposition is.”

Jim smiled kindly, “That’s okay.
 
No one expects you to know what any of
this stuff means.
 
A deposition is a
formal interview where the person being deposed is under oath.
 
We will take depositions of all the
expert witnesses who are called to testify, both for our side and theirs.
 
You will also be deposed.”

Jenna raised her eyebrows.
 
“Me?”

Nancy watched Jenna’s mounting anxiety.
 
It was astonishing to witness Jenna’s
resolve shift – brave Jenna one minute, vulnerable Jenna the next.
 
Regardless, Nancy knew she could not
afford to mince words.
 
Jenna needed
to start preparing for a vicious battle.

“Besides your performance in court, your
deposition will probably be the most important thing you contribute to your
case.
 
To be brutally honest, the
purpose of your deposition is singular.
 
It’s Anders’ chance to get you to hang yourself with your own
words.
 
She will try to get you to
admit that what you did was wrong.
 
She will attempt to twist your words, trip you up, and make you appear
dishonest.
 
She will hammer you with
the same questions over and over again for hours in hopes that you will
eventually contradict yourself.
 
All
while you are being videotaped, audiotaped, and every word you say is
transcribed by a court reporter.”

“Sounds wonderful,” replied Jenna bleakly.

Nancy reached out and patted Jenna’s
hand.
 
“I know it sounds horrible,
and it is.
 
But I’d rather have you
mentally geared up for a grueling experience.
 
When we get close to the time of the
deposition, we will do mock testimonies, grill you, and pin you into a
corner.
 
That way, when Anders tries
to do it for real, you’ll be ready.”

“Okay,” Jenna muttered, still terrified.
 
“When will my deposition happen?”

Jim responded, “We don’t have a firm date or
timeline, but I would expect not for a while.
 
Probably about six months from now.
 
Our trial date has been set for January
30, 2012.”

“Wow,” said Jenna, sounding depressed.
 
“So this lawsuit is going to be hanging
over my head for over a year?
 
How
do people deal with that?”

Nancy spoke, “That’s a good question.
 
There’s no denying that it’s extremely
stressful and constantly present.
 
Some people go see a therapist, which you may want to consider.”

“I don’t need a therapist,” snapped Jenna.

Nancy tried to smooth things over, “I’m
sorry, Jenna.
 
I didn’t mean to
insinuate that you do.
 
I just know
it helps some people to have someone besides us and their spouse to talk to.”

“No, I’m sorry,” Jenna said.
 
“It’s just that it’s bad enough that this
is happening.
 
The thought of seeing
a shrink is just too much right now.
 
I’m not ready to be sued and crazy all at the same time.”

“Don’t give it a second thought.
 
Jim and I have pretty thick skin, so no
worries.
 
And no one thinks you’re
crazy.”

“So this really could take over a year?”
asked Jenna, attempting to get back on target.

Nancy responded, “The only way things may
conclude sooner is if we settle with Ms. Hollings.
 
At this point, I think it’s premature to
pursue that option.
 
We have no idea
if what they wrote in this complaint is true.
 
For all we know, Michelle Hollings may
have had hepatitis C before she ever came to St. Augustine for her
surgery.
 
The discovery process will
help sort that out.
 
As things start
to take shape, we may come to the conclusion that settling is in your best
interest.”