When Tracy is in surgery, after Jed has removed the ruptured ovary, it is revealed that the other ovary is questionable
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Malice
scottsteaux63-735-780576 — 11 years ago(April 24, 2014 07:44 PM)
When Tracy is in surgery, after Jed has removed the ruptured ovary, it is revealed that the other ovary is questionable but, the hospital lacking the pathology lab necessary to evaluate it properly, it fell to Jed to make a judgment call, declare the ovary necrotic, and remove it.
So far so goodthen it comes out that he removed a healthy ovary. Which he knew all along, but without pathology no one could prove it one way or another, so he says it was a judgment call and stands by his actions.
So my question is why was Tracy able to sue the DOCTOR instead of just the HOSPITAL? Under the circumstances there was no way to prove one way or another if Jed had made a serious error or simply a judgment call that he had no choice but to make because if the ovary HAD been necrotic Tracy would have died. And the movie makes a great point of the fact that the real fault lies with the hospital's lack of a pathology lab.
These things aren't really worth over-thinking; it isn't that kind of story. But it struck me that without the certainty a pathology report would have provided, Jed did not need to throw away his career and make himself appear incompetentI had the distinct impression that his ego was greater than his greed.
Never mess with a middle-aged, Bipolar queen with AIDS and an attitude problem!
roflol >< -
puirt-a-beul — 11 years ago(April 28, 2014 12:16 AM)
But it struck me that without the certainty a pathology report would have provided, Jed did not need to throw away his career and make himself appear incompetentI had the distinct impression that his ego was greater than his greed.
You make a good point, and yes, it did ring false with his character especially when it was revealed that Tracy rang a change on him and upped the stakes by being pregnant, which from the dialogue wasn't part of the original plan. Which means he was willing to shut down his career for a share of only half the amount. But his arrogance won out, since when they were walking on the beach he told Tracy that what he wanted was for the George C. Scott character to know that Jed was pulling the strings so he clearly wasn't even thinking about practising again. That does seem a contradiction for the character.
I think the reason that he was sued, rather than the hospital, was the other doctor, the one who said, "I'm not going to like you, am I?" He made pretty clear his objections to Jed's intention to remove the "necrotic" ovary, and Jed said something about how he was aware it was his own decision to proceed. So it wasn't that the hospital didn't have the facilities (it did, but the nurse said it would take 30 minutes to be ready to process the biopsy), but that Jed elected to go ahead without waiting.
You might very well think that. I couldn't possibly comment. -
queencat18 — 10 years ago(April 28, 2015 11:16 AM)
I always had a problem with that, too. Basically, he wanted a pathologist, it would have taken too long to get him there. Then he said that he would do the test himself, but it would take the machine at least a half hour to warm up, and they only had 15 minutes left where she could be in surgery (probably the anasthesia or her blood pressure). But the biggest thing for me was that he went out to talk to Andy, telling him that he could leave it in, but if it was nacrotic as it appeared, then she could die of septic shock through the night, and he had to give him the okay, which he did. The fact that Andy said to do it makes me think that Alec Baldwin was totally in the right when it came down to things. He had to make a snap decision, and even the other doctors were not certain.
"Oh my God! You put a living room where the crack den used to be!" -
ShannonTriumphant — 9 years ago(May 06, 2016 05:35 PM)
I'm taking it that it was definitely Jed. Here's why: he refuses the supervising doc's offer to read the pathology report and "burn it", adding that the guy who did it owes him a favor! So there's some corruption. Jed's decision not to do that is, we find out, very calculated. He doesn't want the hospital involved, so that he can control his end of it.
Also, when he's in the deposition, it is his conduct and not that of the hospital that comes into question, such as the other doctor's testimony about Jed's God Complex AND the added information that Jed had consumed a lot of alcohol before operating on Tracy. That was clearly out of the hospital's control. They could be sued for not having a pathologist ready (which always made me wonder!), but not Jed's complex or his drinking.
I followed all the rulesand you followed none of them. And they all loved you more.
