OK...time to recap this thing...
So I was called into jury duty on Tuesday, September 16. The last time I was called in I sat there for a few hours and read, wasn't called at all, and was let go a few hours early because they didn't have enough trials left...So this would be a piece of cake, right? RIGHT? (and seriously, how have I been called in TWICE and so many people I know have NEVER been called? This system is screwy!)
After checking in and watching the how to be a juror video I sat back with my book. A few minutes later they called a group. A few minutes later they called another group. A few minutes later they called my group. Damnit. Well, at least I'd get this over with, maybe be sent home after an hour or so...
We were ushered into an elevator. A judge was in there and when the deputy sheriff pressed floor 26 the judge said "Uhoh, you know the higher the floor the longer the trial." We were told he was kidding. I don't think he was.
We were brought into a courtroom and seated amongst the first 2 groups. There were maybe 50 or so of us in there. I started counting my chances. They only needed 12. That meant 38 of us wouldn't be picked. Those are decent chances. The presiding judge asked a bunch of questions to the whole group. This took a couple of hours. They were questions about going to the ER and if we had relatives who were doctors or lawyers and if we knew anyone involved in the case.
After that was all done (and it took half a day!) they started calling us in groups to ask us individually some questions. These questions included do you watch movies? (yes) and "What are your favorite TV shows. I decided that it was not lying under oath by omitting that all I watch is 90210, Top Model, and American Idol and instead said "I watch a lot of Food Network." Seriously, everyone said Food Network. Craziness.
There were a few people who you could totally tell were just trying to get out of it. Like the woman who desperately said at the last minute "I think I would be upset if the defendant didn't show up to court one day. If I have to be here he should too." And the guy who nearly started crying because he "couldn't look at the family and be fair." The was also a poor woman with a horrible case of turrets and every time she tried to answer a question the judge made her say her name and it took at least a minute.
By the time the judge and lawyers went back to discuss I pretty much figured out that I was going to get picked. I'm too neutral. I could have lied or made up stories or whatnot. But whatever.
So, yeah. They called my name and I was sentenced to appear in court every weekday for the next 2.5 to 3 weeks. And thus the trial begins...
The case was medical malpractice. Here's the story:
A pregnant 26-year-old woman walked into the UIC hospital ER in January 2000 with a migraine headache and two days later she died of bacterial meningitis.
Basically SIX doctors with FOUR lawyers (TWO sets) were being sued for negligence. As the story unfolded over the next two and a half weeks we found out through the examinations that she had none of the other symptoms of bacterial meningitis. Want to know those symptoms? I'm pretty much an expert now.
The typical signs of b/m are headache, fever, altered mental state, and nuchal rigidity (neck stiffness, which is tested by touching your chin to your chest, which every lawyer and ever witness and every doctor did at some point during the trial. I also found myself doing it every time they brought it up. If it were a drinking game I would have been gone.). Of those she had a headache.
The woman suffered from migraines so that was nothing new for her. She came into the ER and was checked by a resident. Then an ER doctor. Then the ER doctor left and a new ER doctor took over but didn't examine her. A CT scan had been ordered and they thought she might have had a Superior Sagittal Sinus Thrombosis (blood clot in the brain) (she had previously had a stroke) and sent her for an MRI/MRV. Before that she was looked over by a radiology resident. When she got back from the MRI and started having status epilepticus (prolonged seizures) and after that she went into a coma and died.
So. None of that has anything to do with bacterial meningitis. But that is what she died from. And based on all of her symptoms no one had any reason to believe that she had meningitis.
But, as the plaintiffs pointed out, if they had done a blood test (CBC) earlier in the day it might have shown a high white blood count. They did one after she started seizing and her white blood count was really high, which many of the experts (on the plaintiff's side at least) said would mean it was also higher earlier (although seizures and pregnancy can both cause high white blood cell counts). They also said they should have done a lumbar puncture and that would have shown an infection (BUT she previously had had a stroke after getting a lumbar puncture, who hear honestly thinks they ever would have given her one again?)
The plaintiff's were the mother and father of the woman who died, who were now taking care of the two children she'd left behind. There were two sets of defendants: 3 ER doctors (whose lawyers I swear looked just like a character from the Family Guy that I can't figure out and John C. Reilly), and 3 neurologist/radiologists (represented by another 2 lawyers). You know what that meant? Every single person called to the witness stand was examined by three different people for the possibility of being examined SEVEN times. Wonder why the trial took so long? Luckily the judge and lawyers were nice enough to agree to combine the defendants' side when it came time for them to call up witnesses. Or else we'd have to sit through many of the testimonies three times instead of two. Jeez.
Looking at the lawyers it kind of looked like a used car dealer vs. Ferrari dealers or something. The guy on the plaintiff side looked like a total shyster and talked with his hands and yelled a lot. And the defendant lawyers were all very clean looking and asked the judge for permission every time they approached the witness. Plaintiff lawyer would often ignore the judge's "sustained" and just kept saying "Well, didn't you?" He also was almost held in contempt of court at one point for making too many side marks like "I bet you did" and "Exactly". You apparently aren't allowed to have your own opinions as a lawyer.
One of my favorite moments in the trial was when there was a guy who was said to be a resident was up on the stands and the plaintiff lawyer handed him a schedule. Witness showed us that it was a schedule from 2000 and no, he was not on the schedule for that day. Defendant lawyer came up and asked him if that schedule started in June. Yes. So the January on that schedule shows January 2001? Yes. So that shows nothing about whether or not you were on the schedule on this day on January 2000? I guess not.
What else made it take so long? SIDEBARS. A sidebar is when the judges and lawyer disappear and the jurors are left to stare and not talk and twiddle their thumbs for anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes. One day this happened eight times. Yes, yes I kept count.
One of the games you can play while being a juror is to rank the lawyers in order of who you'd sleep with. Throughout the trial the order stayed the same except my first two switched after the really hot one started opening his mouth and had kind of a weak lispy voice. He soon enough switched with number two who was the one with the best sense of humor. Don't you just love these glimpses into the mind of Val?
Anyways.
There were lots of expert witnesses. And of course the plaintiff's side totally saw the need for this CBC test to always be done and the defendants' side said there was no need. My favorite questions of the trials were when they asked these dudes how much they charge to be there and they answer with $6,000 a day or $750 an hour. Jeez. How do I sign up for that?
I was also surprised at just how much laughter there was. I mean it was a pretty serious case. Someone died. Two girls were left without a mother. Six doctors could owe a lot of money and get their records tarnished. And yet just about everyone made you laugh. Especially some of these experts who when asked who they teach they say "anyone who will listen" or when asked how many trials they've testified at say "and this may be my last" (hey, give me a break. it was funny at the time when you're stuck in a room all day!)
I also was fascinated by the court reporter's machine. I can't even type on a regular computer. And that every time we came into the room the court reporter was different.
One day one of the jurors was an hour and a half late. She got yelled at by the judge and was almost sent to jail. They take this mighty seriously.
The trial wound down after we learned way more about bacterial meningitis and Superior Sagittal Sinus Thrombosis than we ever thought we'd know. The plaintiffs were asking for about $12million. And we had to take into account each doctor on their roles and come to a verdict for each of them.
All in all I think I make a very excellent juror as I am very good at keeping an open mind and seeing both sides of the story. Until, that is, it's time to deliberate. Then I am just stuck without an opinion and am not very good at expressing my opinion anyways. We took an initial poll on how we all felt and we all felt exactly the same. Until three people changed their minds and decided they wanted to change their vote. Damnit. So we deliberated for hours and at one point it felt like we'd never agree and be there forever. It was 10 against 2 for a while. Then we got it to 11 against 1 for a couple of hours and finally managed to get everyone on the same thought process.
In the end we found for the defendants. All of them. We found that while it would have been reasonable for them to give her the CBC test it wasn't unreasonable for them not to have given it to her. And there was no way that we could have known what her white blood cell count would have been earlier. Or if there was anything that could have been done to treat the bacterial meningitis if they had been able to diagnose it.
When we went out to give the verdict I was a little upset that the used car dealer lawyer wasn't there (only his colawyer). I was kind of expecting to see him pounding fists and pouting :-(
Afterwards we asked the judge a few questions that kind of made me feel guilty and kind of made me really glad we didn't know before deciding on the verdict. Like the fact that the reason this 2000 case took so long to reach trial was because UIC was apparently very stubborn and didn't want to give them any information. And that not only did we deny this family $12million, they also now have to pay all their court costs and lawyers and all those expensive expert witnesses.
But two and a half weeks after I started, I was finally free!
Despite all my complaining I actually enjoyed being a juror. It felt like I was doing something important and it got me out of staring at a computer screen all day and I learned way more medical terminology than I ever need to know. It was a really interesting experience (well, for most of the time at least).
And now I know that for the rest of my life every time I enter a hospital I am demanding they do a blood test.
