“I can talk to the family’s attorney. They’ll know about the delay in getting her to the hospital, and perhaps drop the case against the hospital on their own. If they don’t, we should hire an outside pathologist to review everything and see if they can come up with a more conclusive answer to whether or not the tests would have made a difference.”
“And if it’s still inconclusive.”
“Perhaps look at a settlement,” I said, knowing it would go over well.
“The idea is to come out not looking guilty or to pay.”
“A settlement will be cheaper if there’s any chance the blame can be put on the hospital due to an EMR glitch.”
“That should be the EMR company’s responsibility,” he grumbled.
“It would be, at least partially, if you hadn’t indemnified it.”
He stood and went to look out the window of his office. “It could still be a human error.”
I wanted to reach out and throttle him. “That wouldn’t change the hospital’s liability. Besides Dr. Foster quit, you can’t hang this on him anymore.”
“We could—”
“No, you can’t. Any attempt to try will again, make this hospital look like it’s trying to avoid its responsibility. I just spent two days as a patient here because people thought you were trying to hide the truth and not accept responsibility.”
“We hired you to avoid these types of things—”
“No, you hired me to represent you in legal matters. But when the hospital makes a mistake, like anyone else, it needs to be held to account. Lawyers aren’t miracle workers.”
His eyes narrowed at me. “You know, there’s a rumor that you and Dr. Foster were having an affair … speaking of accountability. Maybe you’ve been working to protect him and pin this whole thing on the EMR so the hospital would have to pay.”
I should have been worried by that statement. Instead, I was pissed. “You’re a piece of work, you know that? Just because your thought process is to blame others doesn’t mean others operate that way. Nick got his own lawyer because he knew I couldn’t help him.”
“Your legal responsibility is to me.”
“No, my fiduciary responsibility is to this hospital.”
“And yet you were having an affair—”
“Whether I was or not, it doesn’t change that your EMR system failed and possibly led to the death of Ms. Mason. I wonder if the hospital board will do better at trying to protect you than you did in protecting Dr. Foster and your staff.”
“I should fire you—”
“You don’t have to. I quit.” I turned and left. I was feeling strong and confident in my rash decision until I reached my office, and then my legs felt like jelly. I closed my door, sagging against it wondering what the hell I’d just done? There weren't any other legal jobs in Goldrush Lake for a lawyer with an expertise in medical law. Without a job, I’d have to move back home with my father, which I suppose wouldn’t be too bad. Nick did say my dad was going to need more help. It would save on hiring someone. I wondered if Eli would be able to support us all.
I wrote up a letter of resignation that included some additional information about Dick that the board might want to consider. It was probably petty, but a man like him could hurt the hospital in a way that a lawyer couldn’t protect. His adamancy about the EMR not being to blame made me wonder if he’d been the one to push that particular system on the hospital. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was that the hospital board know the situation.
I packed my bag, and on my way out, dropped my letter with the HR people to give to the board. I left the hospital without saying goodbye because I didn’t want to deal with the questions. Now I could understand why Nick had left without a word.
I also understood why he went to see his parents, as the first stop I made was to my dad’s house.
“How’s my girl?” my father said, as I came in.
“Unemployed.”
His brows shot up. “What happened?”
I sat on a chair near his recliner. “I got mad and quit.”
“I see.” He stared at me like he wasn’t sure how to respond.
“I can’t represent a hospital that will toss its hard-working staff under the bus.”
“Is that what it was doing?”
“It looks like Nick has a good a good chance that the Mason family will drop charges, but the hospital was still looking for ways to blame him.”
My father’s face lit up. “Nick will be cleared?”
I smiled, because my father’s smile reminded me of what was important. “He has a good case. It remains to see if the family accepts it. That doesn’t take the hospital off the hook though. Unless a pathologist can … well, I can’t go into details. It’s possible the hospital could still be liable, but it won’t accept it. It was unprofessional of me to quit. It’s not like I haven’t represented assholes before, but I just … snapped.”
“You love Nick and you don’t like to see someone out to get him.”
I sagged back in my chair. “Yeah well, now I have no job and no prospects for a job.”
My dad patted my hand. “I have faith it will all work out. You could work with Eli. He’s setting up some sort of Internet thing.”
“Maybe I could just hang out with you and watch about boingos.”
“It’s bongos.”
“See, I have lots to learn.”
My father laughed. “You’ll be all right Mia. The answers aren’t in front of you at the moment, but you have to trust they’ll come.”
“You don’t think it was stupid to quit like that?”
“Not stupid. Not smart, but sometimes drastic measures are required. I quit my counseling practice before I had the store. Your mother wanted to box my ears I’m sure, but she knew that somehow it would work out, and it did.”
I admired my father’s ability to see the
