I am sadly disappointed / yet relieved that the medical malpractice case I was on has settled. At first I didn't want to be on jury duty and I really didn't think I was a good candidate for these sort of decisions - but I was picked and I went. The first day (last Friday) was a bit nerve racking just because I didn't know what to expect (this was the first time I was on a case), I had many questions on procedure and such but didn't know if I could ask them. The judge came into our room and introduced himself and told us what was about to go on and gave us some rules and what not. The case started right away and the first witness was the Doctor in question. He seemed very nice and I was immediately sympathetic towards him (I was at this point wondering if he would be accountable or the Hospital he is affiliated with since the charge was Doctor X & Hospital K vs. Mrs. J). I felt bad because I didn't want to jeopardize his career although he was being charged with a serious crime did I really want him to continue to practice? Days 2 and 3 were filled with more doctors and specialist and their expert opinions my head was spinning. Day 4 was testimony from the 2 daughters of Mrs. J and Mrs. J herself. Mrs. J's testimony was via video tape because she is that ill she could not appear in person. The bases of the case were that Mrs. J was treated at Hospital K over a period of 6 years with the same problems (about 1 to 2 visits a year). Only after seeking a second opinion from another hospital Mrs. J found out she had stage 4 cancer (meaning the cancer was so far gone she was terminal). If the doctors at Hospital K made the effort to find out what was really wrong with this woman then maybe her cancer would have been caught in stage 1 and it could have been treatable. I am happy they were able to settle before we got to deliberate because I am still sort of freaked that I was a person that was given the power to decide the fate of these people. I was fascinated by the whole process and was actually getting into the case and proceedings. If we had a chance to deliberate I am sure she would have gotten more money than what she settled for (and let me tell you it was in the millions range). Mrs. J has not much longer on this earth I hope her last days are full of love and happiness.
