Don't Blame The Band - 14. Four Suits, Please. But I'm Not a Tailor!

Thursday November 24 - Evening

Following along with Rob for a bit.

"Can you direct me to room 402, please?"

"402. Miles Jackson?"

"Yes."

How fucked up is this hospital that they can't even keep track of their patients?

"Use the elevators behind you. Fourth floor, turn left off the elevator, last room on the left."

"Thank you."

I follow the woman's directions, half expecting to end up in maternity, but it was a regular room. I walk in the door and can't control my tears.

"T-T-Tyler. It's r-really you."

"Yep, just missing a slice of skin and bone above my left ear."

"When the news said you were dead last night, I wanted to die too. What the hell happened?"

Tyler told Rob the story, including the woman being shot in the forehead, thinking he was going to die, then feeling like he got foul tipped with a sledgehammer. Then he finally woke up, alone. He asked about his mother and the nurse called him Miles.

"That's what they said downstairs when I asked for room 402. So, I guess Miles is the dead kid?"

"Probably. His mother came in earlier expecting to see him, saw me and freaked out. Mr. Daggett had just come by with some administrator to confirm who I was. Gave her a business card. He's got a couple lawsuits to hit the hospital with. Mine, and for Miles' mother."

"He's suing for you too?"

"Yeah, they mixed up our charts, and told my mother I was dead. She came in to identify my body, I guess they showed her this Miles guy and the whole hospital went crazy looking for me."

"Where's your mom now?"

"After like an hour-long hug, she went down to the cafeteria. She hadn't eaten since they told her I was dead, last night."

"I can imagine the emotional rollercoaster she's been on. It's been a tough 20 hours or so."

Meanwhile, back at the information desk.

"Tyler Watkins' room please?"

"One moment... Um, what is your relationship?"

"He's my nephew."

"Um, I need to call someone."

"Yeah, I'm sure your computer's telling you he's dead. My sister called me earlier and said there was a mix-up and he's alive. Call someone and find out where he is."

"Yes, sir..."

After waiting about three minutes...

"I think he's in room 402."

"You think? I'll be back if he's not."

"Take the elev..."

"I'll find it. Thank you."

"Uncle Larry!!"

"Hi Tyler. Happy Thanksgiving. Same to you Rob."

"Oh, yeah. I forgot what today was. I slept most of it."

Tyler went through the story again.

"Is Pete's father a good lawyer? If not, I'm sure I can get one through the studio."

"Um, I'm not supposed to know this, but he already has one chart mix-up suit going with this hospital. I think he's dug in pretty deep already."

"OK. I'll get in touch with him at some point. So, Pete was shot too? How is he doing?"

"I don't really know. Mr. Daggett said he was OK but may need another surgery."

"Poor kid. Every time he signs a contract, something bad happens to him. I hope he'll be able to continue with the band."

"Yeah. It would suck if he couldn't. It'd be my fault too."

"It's not your fault, Ty. It's the asshole who shot you guys."

"But Rob, if I hadn't killed his brot..."

"In self-defense. If it's anybody's fault, it's that jerk that jumped you."

"I guess."

"No. You know. Don't take an ounce of blame for this. You're both victims."

"OK, OK. See why I love this guy Uncle Larry?"

"Yes, it's pretty plain that he loves you too. When's the wedding?"

"The wed... Oh, you're kidding."

"I don't know Tyler. After this escapade, I started thinking about making us permanent."

"Really Rob? You'd want to marry me? Can we even do that?"

"Maybe not legally, but we can do something to make it official in our eyes."

"Yes. I'd like that. We already have the rings."

"Yours wasn't stolen?"

"No, it's in my drawer over here. I think the only thing that got stolen was Pete's sax."

"Sorry, can we interrupt?"

"And who are you?"

"I'm detective Childers, this is my partner detective King from the Newark police department. Who are you?"

"I'm Tyler's uncle, Larry Connor."

"And you, son?"

"Tyler's boyfriend, Rob Romano."

"Would you mind excusing us for a couple minutes. We have some questions for Tyler."

"Do we have to leave? He's already told us both everything that happened."

The detectives look at each other and nod.

"I guess you can stay, Mr. Connor."

Tyler goes through the story yet again. This time with the addition of his address and phone number.

"That matches up pretty well with what Mr. Daggett told us. We'll be in touch as the case progresses."

A few minutes pass after the detectives leave.

"Hi Mrs. Watkins."

"Hello Rob. Decided to come visit Lazarus?"

"Yes. I even convinced my mom to let me borrow her car."

"Well, it was for a good reason. I bet you had almost as stressful day as I did?"

"Yes. Although I can't imagine having to come identify a body and it's the wrong one. Good in one sense, shocking in another."

"Yes. Not something I'd wish on many people. Maybe just those that did this. Oh, Larry. When did you get here?"

"A little while ago, just stepped out for a drink of water after the detectives were here."

"Did they get what they needed, Tyler?"

"I think so. I told them what happened. They said it agreed with Pete's version. Um, I don't mean to chase you all out, stay if you want, but I'm going to ask for some pain medicine. The headache has gotten progressively worse since I've been awake. I think I need some sleep."

Tyler pushes the call button and tells the nurse his head hurts. Even though Tyler didn't specifically chase them, nurse grouchy does. Visiting hours are nearly over anyway.

Friday November 25

While many people have Thanksgiving Friday off, medical staff and lawyers with brand new lawsuits waiting don't always have that luxury. Terrance stops at the hospital on his way in. Fortunately, it's pretty much on the way. First stop is the nurse's station on Pete's floor.

"Is doctor Chun here this morning?"

"Not yet. He makes rounds after noon."

"Dr. Klaus?"

"Yes, he's on the staff here, would you like me to page him?"

"Yes, please. I'll be with my son."

"Very well Mr. Daggett."

Unbeknownst to Terrance, Dr. Allison left strict instructions to treat him with the utmost respect. Ulterior motive being don't piss off the lawyer who is suing you.

"Good morning, Pete. How are you feeling today?"

"A little better. A good night's sleep after another visit to the OR helped. Haven't seen a doctor yet this morning, but my pain level is lower."

"I gather getting that last bone fragment out of your chest has something to do with that."

"That and one of the nurses said that Dr. Chun sewed up a small leak. I guess some of the pain and fatigue was due to blood loss and buildup in my pericardial cavity."

"Thanks for the information, Dr. Daggett."

"Dad, don't make me laugh, that activity still hurts."

"What still hurts?"

"Good morning, Dr. Klaus. My dad making me laugh."

"I agree, dad jokes are frequently painful. But aside from fatherly inflicted pain, how are you this morning?"

"Definitely feeling better."

"Great. And Mr. Daggett, you wanted to see me?"

"I wanted an official update on Pete here, but apparently he got one from a nurse. Aside from removing another bone fragment, Dr. Chun sewed up another leak?"

Dr. Klaus looks like someone just squeezed his balls. I think he was hoping we wouldn't find that out.

"Um, yes. That is accurate."

It was actually three small leaks, but that doesn't come out until after dad subpoenas my records.

"Thanks. I have a ton of work to do. I'll stop by again after work Pete. You take it easy and just rest."

"Damn, and I wanted to run in the charity marathon the hospital sponsors for its invalid patients."

"Have a good day. I love you."

"Love you too dad."

"Marathon for invalid patients? And you thought your dad's jokes were painful? I'm going to have to prescribe myself a liter of morphine."

"Wouldn't that be fatal?"

"Not as much as that joke. I'll stop in later. Your dad was right, just rest; it's the best thing for you right now."

We're going to follow Terrance to the office. Things are going to be interesting there today.

"Good morning, Terrance. How's my favorite singer doing? I heard they were recording Wednesday."

"They were. He's doing about as well as we can expect, Michelle."

"That sounds ominous. What have I missed?"

"Oh, geez. You don't know. He and Tyler were leaving the studio after the session and they were accosted, apparently by the brother of the boy Tyler killed..."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Back it up. Tyler killed someone?"

"Yes. Last week he was jumped coming out of the studio. The guy asked for his wallet. Instead, Tyler pulled the knife he carried, to discourage the attack. They got into a scuffle and Tyler accidentally sliced the guy's neck."

"Oh, my God. Was he arrested?"

"No. The attacker had a gun. Tyler's knife was tiny, but sharp."

"And then Wednesday?"

"As I said, the first attacker's brother apparently wanted revenge. He killed a woman who tried to break it up. Both Pete and Tyler were shot."

"But they're both alive? I gather from what you said that Pete is."

"They are. Initially, Tyler was reported as killed, but the hospital mixed up his chart with another boy's."

"Let me guess, St. Michael's?"

"Right. So, I'm in today to start working on three more lawsuits against them."

"Obviously Tyler and his mom, but who else?"

"Pete, for one. The surgeon missed a bone fragment, caused Pete most of a day of unnecessary pain. He also missed a bleeder, and who knows what else I'll find when I get his records. And finally, the woman whose son actually was dead. Not sure how much of a case she has yet, I'm expecting to hear from her today."

"Wow. I'd say let me know if I can help, but those are way out of my league."

"I'm sure I'll talk to Walt Prince for at least guidance, if not an extra paralegal and/or associate. But thanks for the offer."

"You're welcome. It was pretty much an empty one though. You going to see Pete later?"

"Yeah. Hopefully I can get out of here by visiting hours. I guess since I don't have a lot of details on Pete's case, neither of the other two for that matter, today will just be working on the boilerplate."

"I'll hang around later. Let me know when you're heading out, I'll follow."

"Sure thing. Talk to you later."

OK. Medical malpractice templates. I suppose I can build off the Lewis case. Tyler's will be based on that premise, and I already have their signed agreement. Hmm, I wonder if I have to do anything special if I'm the plaintiff. That never came up in law school.

"Hello, Walter Prince's office, Maria speaking, how can I help you?"

"Hi Maria, Terrance Daggett in litigation. I have an unusual situation I need to ask Walter's advice about. Is he in, and have any time today?"

"Hi Terrance. Yes, he's in this morning. He can see you 11:30 to 12. Will that be long enough? He wants to get out of here early today."

"Should be plenty of time. Thanks, I'll see you then."

"Your time is booked. Bye."

OK. That leaves me a little less than an hour to set up two more accounts. I should put Corinne's name on Pete's suit too. That way if it being my son causes any complications, it can technically be her suit. Can't start the Jackson one yet. Hopefully I'll get that one though. Four shots at those morons over there will definitely get that dick Allison's attention.

The hour goes by fast. I head upstairs to the partner's offices, making sure I'm right on time.

"Just one minute Terrance, Walter's just finishing up a call. Would you like a coffee, or tea?"

"No thank you Maria. I'm fine."

A light flashes on her desk.

"You can go in now."

"Good morning Mr. Prince."

"Good morning, Terrance. Please, call me Walter. I hate formality outside the courtroom. We get more than enough there, don't we?"

"Yes, your honor."

"Good. Very funny. So, Maria said you have an unusual situation. I'm intrigued."

"It's something I've never encountered before. Is there anything special I need to do if I'm my own plaintiff?"

"That is unusual, but not unheard of. Nothing special really, but it would be a good idea to name a co-plaintiff. What's the case?"

"It will be medical malpractice for my son."

"Oh, no. I'm sorry to hear that. Will he be alright?"

"Yes, he should be. He was shot Wednesday evening and so far, I've discovered the surgeon left a bone fragment in his chest and missed a bleeder, both causing him a great deal of discomfort."

"The shooting here in Newark. I heard about that. Did he know either of the two who were killed?"

"Yes and no. The other young man was reported dead incorrectly. Tyler is one of Pete's friends."

"Ooof. That must have been difficult for your son?"

"Yes, to say nothing of Tyler's mother. First, she was told her son was dead. Then when she came to identify the body, it wasn't her son she saw."

Prince raises his eyebrows, obviously wordlessly asking if I have that case as well.

"Tyler's 18, but I have both he and his mother signed up. That one and my son's case are already logged. I'm waiting to hear from the mother of the boy who was already dead. I don't know yet if she has a case, but the hospital telling you your son is alive when he's really dead has to fall under extreme emotional duress."

"A triple play. Good job. But back to your initial question; naming your wife as the plaintiff would eliminate any potential conflicts. I assume you and your wife have an amicable relationship?"

"Yes. No problem there."

"I remember the news mentioning St. Michael's. I believe you're already working a suit against them?"

"Yes. If I get the Jackson case, there will be four actives against St. Michael's."

"Forgive me if I blink away the dollar signs from in front of my eyes. That is impressive. You're a senior associate, correct?"

"Yes sir."

"Pull off a home run here and junior partner may be within your grasp. Keep me informed. Weekly progress updates?"

"Of course, sir."

"Anything else?"

"No, that's all Walter. Maria said you wanted to leave early; I won't hold you any longer."

"Not a problem. I'm always happy to spend a few extra minutes when it's big news. I hope your son recovers well. Have a good weekend, although I suspect it will be a busy one."

"It will. You have a good weekend too. Bye."

After Terrance leaves, Walter has one more activity to perform.

"Maria, get me George, please."

"Right away Mr. Prince... Mr. Wheeler on line one, sir."

"George, I have some excellent news."

"Hello Walter. What is it?"

"I just met with one of my senior associates, Terrance Daggett. He has that procedure performed on the wrong patient suit against St. Michael's."

"Yes?"

"He has two more lined up and possibly a third against them."

"You're kidding?"

"Nope, I'm looking at the summaries he's entered now."

"That could be a gold mine. We've been looking for a candidate to replace Mills as a junior partner since he resigned last month."

"Yes. If Daggett is successful, and based on the summaries, all three already logged are slam dunks, he's definitely in the lead."

"Thanks for the heads up. I'll put him on my watch list."

Terrance is returning to his office.

"Mr. Daggett, there's a Lisa Jackson holding for you. I told her I wasn't sure exactly when you'd be back, but she insisted on waiting."

"Thanks, Carla. How long?"

"Only three minutes."

"Good, not long enough to get very annoyed. Thanks."

"Hello Mrs. Jackson."

"Hello Mr. Daggett. I was expecting a longer wait. Please, call me Lisa."

"I finished my meeting fairly quickly Lisa. And I'm Terrance."

"Thank you. I was so distraught yesterday. Encountering you was a blessing."

"I'm sorry about your son. I know it may be difficult, but if you can tell me what happened, I can let you know if there's a possibility of taking action against the hospital. Do you mind if I record our conversation?"

"Thank you. And no problem recording. I do hope you can stick it to those bastards. My husband and son were in an auto accident on Wednesday night. We live in Sparta, so I didn't get any word until early Thursday morning. It was stressful enough waiting for them to come home. Then to get a call from the police about the accident. I called the hospital; getting anything out of them was like pulling teeth. I finally found out they both suffered head injuries but were expected to survive. Imagine my surprise when I entered what I thought was my son's room and he wasn't there. But you know that part."

"Yes. Is your husband going to be OK?"

"Yes, but his head injury was actually two badly broken legs. He may end up losing one."

"I'm sorry. What happened with Dr. Allison after I left you?"

"After beating around the bush for a few minutes, he finally told me my son had actually passed away shortly after arriving at the hospital. His head injury was actually dismemberment of his left arm, causing him severe blood loss, and ultimately, exsanguination."

"So, they provided you incorrect information about both of them?"

"Yes. Needless to say, I wasn't happy with Dr. Allison. He wasn't sympathetic at all. No apology, just the cold, hard details. I wanted to smack his smug face, but I controlled myself."

"That was a good thing. I understand your frustration, he can be difficult to deal with. You seem to have a good case for the hospital causing you severe emotional distress. Are you home today?"

"Yes, but I'll be at the hospital later. Would you be able to take my case?"

"Yes, I would. I'll be visiting my son later. I can bring the necessary paperwork and meet with you and your husband. What is his first name?"

"Carl, Carlton. That would be great. I expect to be there around 7:00, depending on traffic, after I feed my two remaining ch-children."

"Yes. You need to take care of them, now more than ever. That will be fine. I'll meet you in his room a little after 7 then. Again, I'm sorry about your son, but I think we can make the hospital suffer for their treatment of you."

"Thank you, Terrance. I'll see you later then."

"You're quite welcome, Lisa. Goodbye."

"Bye."

Man, that hospital is a hot mess. I hope Pete's OK to be transferred this weekend. I don't want him there any longer than necessary. God knows what could happen to him. OK, next task, working on the subpoena. Have to get his medical records. Probably worth getting Tyler's, Miles' and Carlton's too. Yep, busy weekend for sure.

Back at the hospital, Dr. Chun is making rounds.

"Hello Peter. How are you doing today?"

"Feeling much better, thanks. I think the second surgery cleared up the issues. I'm not feeling as much pain and the fatigue peaks a lot slower and not as badly."

"Good. Good. Yes, sometimes it takes multiple attempts to solve these types of injuries. I'll be transferring your monitoring to Dr. Mason, he's our staff cardiologist. He'll be better suited for any further follow-up. I wish you the best of luck in your recovery."

Yeah, especially after you screw up and leave bone fragments and leaks behind.

"Thank you. I do have one question for you."

"Yes, what is it?"

"I sing professionally in a band. We were just signed with Atlantic records. Will my injuries affect my ability to sing?"

"Not specifically. Your endurance may suffer during your recovery, so you may need to rest more often, but I don't believe you'll have any lasting effects."

"Thanks. That's what I was hoping to hear. I had a previous issue that caused a need for a temporary break. It's good to know this time it won't be permanent either."

"Yes, you'll be fine. Good luck with your singing career. Goodbye."

"Bye."

It's time for the afternoon visiting hours at the hospital. Pete and Tyler are going to be visited by the band first, then a surprise visitor arrives a little later. The guys decide to split up so all 5 aren't in either patient's room at the same time. Hospitals can get picky about large crowds. Ant and the Nash brothers start out with Pete. The visit starts with a kiss from Ant before any words are spoken.

"God, Ant. Couldn't you have told us to wait outside until you greeted him like that?"

"No Eddie. I wanted to make you suffer."

"Well, there he is. You know, if you don't want to sing with us, just let us know. You don't have to keep getting injured."

"Funny Eddie. Believe me, I'm really tired of getting injured. It seems to get worse every time. Another one may end up in a permanent vacation."

"So, a full recovery is expected?"

"Yes, David. I spoke to the surgeon a little while ago. He said my endurance will be impacted in the short-term, but otherwise, no problems."

"Good to hear. Obviously, your recovery is most important. If it meant no more singing, so be it. But I'm glad we don't have to look for a replacement."

"We could always call Sean, Eddie."

"You bucking to be replaced too Ant? I'd rather retire a penniless has-been."

"Oh God, guys. Don't make me laugh. It hurts."

"Geez, first he won't sing with us, now he won't laugh with us. You sure you still love him, Ant?"

"Definitely, David. I can wait a long time for him to laugh and sing again. As long as he's there for me in other ways, those things aren't important."

"OK, Ant's getting mushy. It's time to go see Tyler. Rich and Gabe should be here soon. Take care of yourself, and try to stay out of trouble?"

"I'll try Eddie. Thanks for coming by."

Ant stays behind for a minute to give Pete a proper goodbye.

"I guess we're back to only kissing for a while. Get well soon. I miss you, if you know what I mean."

"I do. I miss you that way too Ant. See you later. I love you."

"I love you too. Bye."

Rich and Gabe's visit with Tyler was way less mushy, but they expressed their get well soon wishes and kept him company for a few minutes. The guys switched patients, similar jokes were thrown Pete's way by Rich and Gabe. Ant and the Nash brothers wished Tyler a speedy recovery as well. Tyler actually had good news to share. He was to be discharged the next day. Since the bullet really only grazed him, there was no need for a long hospital stay.

After a nap, Pete received another visitor.

"Hello Pete. How are you doing?"

"Mick! I'm getting better. I'll probably have to stay here for a little while longer, nobody's given me any estimates, but feeling better all the time."

"I'm glad to hear it. We were all shocked when we heard what happened. Even more so that Tyler was initially thought to be killed. That hit the folks at Atlantic pretty hard. It sucks that the hospital made that mistake, but finding out he's OK was a huge relief."

"You're not kidding. I saw the lady that tried to help us get shot in the head. I only saw that Tyler went down. Obviously feared the worst, thought I was going to die too. We were both lucky the gun wasn't very powerful, and we were hit where we were."

"I don't know how you can consider being shot in the chest lucky, but I guess it's all relative."

"Well, yeah. If the bullet hit me a couple inches off in any direction, things would have turned out way worse. Same with Tyler. Getting hit in the side of the head was way better than straight on."

"Positive attitude. I like it. Sorry, I don't have a lot of time, but I did want to get in to see you and Tyler, wish you well. I'm still hoping we can spend a good part of the time over the Christmas holiday in the studio."

"We should. The surgeon said my endurance will suffer for a while, but hopefully by then I should be close to normal."

"Good. OK, gotta run. Get better, rest up. We've still got a lot of work to do."

"Thanks for stopping by."

Now on to the surprise visit with Tyler.

"Hi Tyler. Or should I say Lazarus?"

"Hi Mick! Yeah, my mother hit me with that nickname too. But I wasn't really dead. Just the stupid hospital's mistake."

"True, but it's still a fun nickname. How are you doing?"

"I'm doing OK. Still feeling pain, but that will lessen over time. They tell me I'm getting released tomorrow, so I must be improving."

"Good. Glad to hear it. Everyone at the studio sends their best. We were all shocked when we heard you were killed. Obviously, everybody's happy that wasn't true."

"Nobody happier than me and my mother."

"That had to be a tough time for her."

"It was, but it's in the past, well, except for the lawsuit."

"Good. The hospital should pay for that kind of a mistake. Sorry, I can't stay longer, but I wanted to at least come by and see how you were doing."

"Yeah, that's fine. I'm glad you took the time to come see me. Us. I'm guessing you're visiting Pete too."

"Yep, saw him before I came here. He's on the third floor, so he was on the way."

"No worries. Thanks again for coming by."

"No problem. See you soon."

"Bye."

At the evening visiting hours, Terrance gets the signatures he needs for the Jackson lawsuit. Not that it impacts the suit at all, but Mr. Jackson lucked out and didn't lose the leg. After he gets home, he fires a status off to Walter Prince, as requested for the weekly update. Four clients lined up, three additional subpoenas for medical records filed. He still has a lot of work ahead of him, but the odds of the hospital settling are very good. If any must go to trial, it will likely cost them a whole lot more. Juries love sticking it to the big corporations for fuckups as bad as these are. Michelle spent a few minutes with Pete while Terrance was with the Jacksons.

Next up - "Recovery and Five Fun-filled Days in Newark, NJ"