Original subtitles

Malpractice cases are always the same. It's sleazy doctors, sleazy patients.

You draw the line at peeping into other people's bedrooms.

Tonight on Simon and Simon.

Oh, my.

She has got a great body. This is not going to be easy. You're a malingering

fraud, and you're no more crippled than I am.

Fire! Oh, wait! Save yourself!

The gas fireplace, Tom. Every man for himself!

Raise your right hand!

We're dead, ladies.

Probable cranial edema and hemorrhage. Get me all type B positive and supply.

I'm sorry, Dr. Stephanie. I'm in training. I don't belong here. Who's

supervisor? I know who she is. All right.

You report to Nurse Erin. You tell her that I'm taking Dr. Tyler's patient into

emergency surgery. Then you contact this girl's parents and you get them down

here. You tell them their daughter is critical. Be frank, but don't shake them

up. Now go, go, go.

Look at the size of that clot.

Damn, how could he let it go this long?

There's a cardiology resident in here.

Heart needle.

One milligram adrenaline, 50 milligrams sodium bicarbonate.

Paddles. Let's go.

Clear.

Needle.

Crack her chest.

We're not waiting. This girl is dying. Let's go. Let's go.

Visiting hours will be ending in 15 minutes.

All visitors, please leave the hospital at this time.

This is Mr. and Mrs. Bates, Doctor.

This is Dr.

Stepney. Dr. Bates.

Mrs. Bates.

Your daughter has had a...

A very tough couple of hours.

Her heart failed once, but she's stable. She's stable now, and I'm confident

that she's going to be fine.

I'm sure you want to see her, and she's in recovery right down the hall.

Thanks. It's a back room.

How long is this going to take?

Well, it depends on your decision.

It's the same.

Richard's still sticking to his story.

Hello, Mrs. Addison.

How are you? Up and around, I see.

We've got something to talk about. Uh, Kyle, which is... We called your office.

We called your club.

You really should check in sometime, Dr. Tyler.

It's Thursday, Kyle. I was meeting with the Board of Governors.

I haven't got time right now. Well, you better make the time.

Hadn't you better worry about your own problems?

I'd say a six million dollar malpractice suit ought to give you some pause for

thought.

Sweet.

You're a malingering fraud, and you're no more crippled than I am. And I'm not

playing your game, boy.

You want to sue me? Fine!

Sue me! I'll see you in court where you'll have the chance to prove it.

All right, I'm on. There's a slight break to the left, so just, you know, be

ready for it.

It breaks to the left, but it's not slight.

Major. All right, now look, Mom. It'll take you nine strokes to get here, so

nail that thing, okay?

Flight break.

Major break.

Flight... The reason I'm down in nine is because you boys keep yakking while I'm

trying to concentrate.

Would you both please be quiet?

When's the tournament?

Next Saturday.

It's a shame they don't have lights out here. You know, if you practice day and

night, you might be able to... Would you please?

Oh, I hope this goes in, because if it does, I'll never let you forget it.

Leave my clubs. Hi, Pat.

Buster?

Hi, boys. Where have you been?

Trying to avoid this moment.

Hi, Pat.

And the answer is no.

We have sworn off medical malpractice.

Since when? Since the last time we worked for you. Remember, we almost died

that one.

Fifteen hours under that woman's...

You guys have your standards? Yes.

You draw the line at peeping into other people's bedrooms?

No, not actually. We don't.

Right, look, even the worst divorce case doesn't make you sick. I mean, every

time we do malpractice, I come down with something.

Oh, AJ, your imagination is working overtime. I do.

Well, at least let Pat tell you what you want.

Yeah, no one I trust as much when it comes to busting fakes.

This is Dr.

Kyle Stepney. He won't settle out of court, and they are asking six million.

Who's their lawyer?

Dorsey Pender.

Oh.

How's their case?

They botched a lumbar myelogram.

Is that dangerous?

Well, of course it is if it isn't done properly.

It's a standard procedure for injecting dye into the spinal canal. Nothing

special. The bottom line is Carl's insurance company wants him to settle.

don't want him to fight it and risk a $6 million excess verdict.

And if he insists, they'll dump him.

Well, then why not settle? That's what insurance is for.

I think it's shameful.

Remember I told you when you were four years old and you had that terrible

tonsillitis? Yeah, but wait, Mom.

And they gave you penicillin, which caused a severe allergic reaction? I

Mom. The doctors work day and night to save your life.

And Kyle Stepney is that kind of a doctor.

And those people want to take his money away. Not only that, what's worse,

they're trying to ruin his reputation.

How can you let that happen?

from lieutenant detective to traffic control in the space of a week. Will you

hold it down?

Too bad you didn't bring a bullhorn. You could have blown my whole cover here.

That's cold.

It's not a cold.

It's these pepper trees.

What do you want?

A bunch of some antihistamines.

Right.

Look, I'll be back in the office about four. See you then. Hey, look, when you

get back here, would you check and see if there's a make -sheet on a guy named

Richard, Vic Richard?

Later. Don't hassle me now, okay? Hey, pal, what are you doing?

Vic.

scum his rights and get him out of my face.

Vic Richard, a .k .a. Richard Vic, Robert Vinson, settled out of court.

In 1981, he was expelled from Arizona Polytech for tampering while working

-time in the bursar's office.

Tampering with what? The bursar's wife.

That doesn't prove anything.

We better get him up out of the wheelchair.

I don't envy you guys. Those miracle cures are hard work.

Sounds like a job for Klazuski.

Who?

Dorky Pender is Richard's lawyer. Five will get to ten. This is a scam.

Man's elevated ambulance. Are you kidding?

Sound of a siren getting him up off his deathbed. When he laid back down, he'd

be a whole lot richer.

Kazuski has such a great body.

How come you never mentioned her before?

Because she's got such a great body.

Ah, boy!

When you see this.

Has got a great... What did I lie?

That a girl, Sheila.

That a girl. Oh, oh.

Nice move.

Nice move.

Oh, come on, Sheila. You can take her. You can take her. No, no, no, no.

Don't. Must be the physical therapist Pat was talking about. Yeah,

Valkyrie herself, right?

What are you doing? No, no, no, Sheila, Sheila, Sheila.

You could be really paralyzed.

What is that?

You know, this kind of reminds me of that mob staging accidents out on the I

-15. Oh, come on. Never would have nailed them if that guy hadn't crossed

center divider and caught a northbound Peterbilt.

Oh, come on. Don't remind me. I can still see the picture you took.

I was kind of proud of that one. One honorable mention at the surveillance

contest.

It's far enough.

Far enough, far enough. Yes, far enough.

Did he... He was on his way... He was gonna... Okay, Ava.

You get the beer.

Schnell.

Boy, this room's been real bad.

You're going to have to have a new wheel.

How much is that going to cost?

I don't know.

I'll check.

Hey, look who's here.

Yeah, you're going to pay all. Oh, Sheila, you know better than to drive on

flat tire. What was I supposed to do? That bimbo threatened in German to break

both my arms. I didn't know you spoke German. I don't. Then how do you know

she was talking about? By the look of her eyes.

Hey, wait a minute.

Now how do we get the guy out of the chair?

I don't know.

Stay seated.

Come, my leaps in.

Swell.

It was Carlos' favorite snake.

Maybe you can get it back.

AJ, the snake just got out rattled by the Ryan Maiden over there.

One thing worse than a scared rattler is an embarrassed rattler.

What a day.

Scrapbook of misguided memories.

Well, Eva clearly looks more poisonous than the snake does.

You suppose a rattler loses its confidence when it's been defanged?

Wouldn't you?

Well, I thought the agent power would do the trick. No, look at this.

Didn't even jump when the hand grenade went off.

Tell you, we've tried everything.

Lust, fear.

By now, we're going to freak out. Nothing's brought this guy to his feet.

tell you, he's the best I've ever seen. He's still a phony, though.

We're just going to have to wait him out on the clock surveillance 24 hours a

day. That'll do it. Well, we'll keep this up. We're going to get into the

Guinness Book of World Records for the longest stakeout in history. Looking to?

Yeah. Why don't I go over there and talk to them while you play Mr. Chimney? No.

I played Mr. Chimney the last time. It's your turn.

Oh, come on, Rick. You're good at it. No, forget it, AJ.

I'm going to go to the hospital. No, come on. The reason you do it is it's

strong suit.

You've always enjoyed doing it. It's what you're good at. Just remember, when

you pull the pin, keep your hand on the spoon, because last time I used this

thing, I was brushing my teeth with scouring powder for a week. Don't! Don't

that.

How you doing, Mr. Chimney?

No big deal to me. I've got an investor.

No, no, no. Come on in. Come on in. I've never seen a chimney sweep.

Besides, it could be the highlight of the day.

Okay.

Mr.

Simon.

I don't have either the time or the inclination to discuss Dr. Stephanie or

other member of my staff with you.

I understand you guys are all members of the same elite little club here.

Oh, I'm afraid I resent that.

As chief of surgery, I have assembled a staff that is far from elite.

And if Dr.

Zana's here, especially when we have so much to do.

Well, tell me, you think it's possible that he did make a mistake during the

surgery?

If you're asking for my personal opinion, I would say no. No, he's an

surgeon. But even excellent surgeons make serious mistakes, so yes, it is

possible. But he'd know if he were responsible.

Some men's egos are so big, they have trouble saying no to them.

Excuse me.

Dr. Tyler, please report to administration.

Calm down, Helen. There is nothing to worry about.

It is routine for detectives to hang around hospitals asking questions. It

means Stephanie's getting desperate.

Hold on.

Fire!

Fire! Oh, quick!

Save yourself!

Quick, before the house goes!

That's a gas fireplace, pal.

The gas is shut off.

You want to do Swami for me? I just got myself prepped for night work a little

early. That's all.

I take it that means the mighty Mr. Chimney has struck out. We will get him

tonight. Since we've got to have it back by noon tomorrow, I don't think the

owner knows it's missing.

Oh, come on, Rick. I told you the last time. I didn't want Carlos to... Hey, I

think it's awfully nice, Carlos, considering what you did to his snake.

you mean what I did to his snake? It's okay. I told him we'd use the scope to

find some baby water moccasins here in the swamp tonight.

How are we doing?

Still nothing.

I'm not going to spend another night in a swamp.

The wave of the hundred drove off.

Well,

what

are you here for today? Clean out the drain?

Just thought we'd drop by and let you know we've got some nice photographs of

you. Oh, yeah?

What am I doing?

Oh, not much. Just kind of... How much you built the defendants for in those

other malpractice scams?

What those doctors did to me, they got off easy.

Now get out of here.

How long are you going to stay in that wheelchair?

I mean, it's going to be about a year before your trial comes to court. Oh,

don't try a disappearing act. Wherever you go, we're going to be there.

Scumballs better make tracks before I call the cops. No, I don't think they're

going to be following where you're going. My legs are paralyzed.

I can't even swim.

Good line.

Yeah? Mm -hmm.

No signs of thrashing around or anything? No.

That's good.

Ah, air bubbles. That's a nice touch.

Air bubble?

Get you to the house, we'll dry you off, and we'll talk about this, okay?

Right

to

the bottom.

Report.

Yes, we had Richards examined by a second neurologist late yesterday, and

showed no nerve action between L3 and S1. Oh, great. Oh, that's nice.

Which is impossible.

In order to cause that much paralysis, you'd have to use a huge needle,

something larger than a 21.

A first -year med student wouldn't make that kind of mistake.

Some other kind of mistake, then?

I didn't make a mistake.

He's faking. The man was drowning.

It's kind of a low -percentage way to rip off an insurance company.

You do make mistakes, don't you? I mean, you are human.

Life stops.

Do you understand me, mister? It stops. right here in these hands with some

regularity. Now, that is very humanizing.

Yeah, yeah, I make mistakes.

And then I suffer for it, and then I learn. I learn to never, ever make that

mistake again.

Because the margin for error in neurosurgery is zero.

Now, I have done hundreds, hundreds of myograms. I did not screw up Vic

Richards' back, and I am not taking the blame for it.

I've got to get to the hospital.

That is confidence talking, I hope.

arrogance? I've already told you I'm not perfect, but I am a damn doctor.

in awe of your tenacity.

We're also off the case.

Oh.

Sorry.

Hey, wait a minute.

This is our office.

You leave.

I'm never going to court.

Are you listening?

It's good.

Two detectives nosing around. So I am through. That's it. Okay, you're

For today.

No, no. I mean, it's over.

You're going to leave town. I don't care what you do. Anything you have to to

call them off.

Nobody's going anywhere except you.

And that's back to your office.

We're in this game together.

And we're going to play it down to the end.

And if I need another nerve block or anything else to make sure that we win,

you're going to do it.

Okay.

I feel badly about leaving Pat hanging.

I'm feeling worse about almost drowning a paraplegic.

Hi.

I couldn't sleep either.

And then suddenly I had this thought.

Spinal block.

And the effects would have lasted until you guys threw him in the lake.

Okay. Now, assuming that you're right.

Pender couldn't have given him the block, nor could Eva. I mean, it had to

another neurologist, right? Well, if anyone knows where to buy a neurologist,

it's Dorsey Pender.

How do we prove that?

Well, try this on for size. What happens to a man who marches to the beat of a

different drum?

He gets out of step.

He also irritates most of his fellow marchers.

I'll bet Stepney has irritated most of the surgical residents.

Could be.

It's a start.

And my back has been hurting me lately.

Think Stepney would admit me to the hospital as his patient?

Yeah.

Oh. It hurts, huh? Yeah.

In here?

Yes.

Okay. Very good.

Very good.

Now, side to side.

That's okay.

Oh, it hurts a little.

Okay, on your back now.

Oh, okay.

Okay,

now I want you to keep your left leg straight. I'm going to raise it up.

Okay.

How many neurosurgeons are there on staff here?

Three. Dr. Tyler, the chief of staff, Stepney, and Shigeta.

Does that hurt?

No. And if I wanted to get a second opinion, who would you recommend?

Uh -oh.

Smart, huh?

Yeah. What were you saying?

Oh, if I wanted a second opinion, who would you recommend?

Stephanie is the finest neurosurgeon I've ever worked with. But if you want a

second opinion, Shigeta is very good.

And Tyler?

Sure.

Paula, give this young man a rubdown.

Okay.

I'll see you later.

Thank you.

Third. You have to memorize everything?

You know, medical history, present diagnosis, prognosis and treatment,

group, serum group, diet, allergies, consulting physicians.

Only that much.

Oh, A .J. Kramer.

Dr. Stephanie's patient.

Ah.

O negative.

Severe anaphylactic allergy to penicillin.

That's me?

You know, it's interesting.

Dr. Tyler doesn't seem to have as many patients.

Well, his practice has fallen off ever since Dr. Stepney came on staff.

Attention, here comes Dr. Stepney.

AJ, I've got your x -rays. I'll see you in your room in five minutes.

Yes, sir.

Well,

there's no indication of interdiscal narrowing, no arthritic spurring, no

impairment.

I think what we're dealing with here, A .J., is a lumbar strain.

We'll treat it symptomatically.

Rest, some stretching exercises, hot packs.

I'll see you later. I've got to get to surgery.

Excuse me. Dr.

Tyler looks on medicine as an avocation.

I understand his practice has suffered since your arrival.

land speculation.

Excuse me. It's okay.

It's not my doctor.

Oh, it's all right.

Got off the wrong leg.

Excuse me.

Excuse me, Nurse Aaron.

Mr. Kramer in 314 didn't check out today, did he?

No. Funny.

He's not in his room.

Has she found him yet?

She checked the other room. She's downstairs now.

In your office?

What did he take?

The IRS files are missing.

So, they know your financial situation, Shakey.

When they see Richard's name in the files, they'll figure it all out. Now, I

have warned you, Pender.

I'll do what I have to to survive. You are on your own.

Ah, Rick.

It's eleven... Eleven -forty.

I'm on my way home. I've got what we need.

That's it. I'll see you later.

Where have you been?

Me?

Just out stretching my legs.

We've been looking everywhere for you.

Sorry, I didn't know. I'm going to check out.

Did Dr. Stepney release you?

No, but I'm feeling a lot better.

Then you have to sign a release.

But if you'll wait right here, I'll get the form for you, and you'll be out of

here in no time.

Okay. Thank you.

Um, I don't know what's taking them so long, but I've... What is that?

Allergic to penicillin.

What room is my spinal cyst in?

Mr. Kaplan, 312.

I think we're going to have to perform an emergency operation on Mr. Kaplan.

Please get the patient prepared. I believe he's in room 314.

I will also want an IV with penicillin for the OR.

You're going to give Mr.

Kramer penicillin?

Kaplan, the patient's name is Kaplan.

I didn't know something like this was going to happen. Neither did I, but it

has, and we have to do what we have to do.

I hope I can go through with it.

It isn't a question of money anymore, Helen. It's your whole life on the line.

You've reached Simon & Simon Investigations. At the beep, please

and number and any message that you wish. Thank you.

Rick, uh, look, before you leave, I've got to sign some forms.

Um, I don't know what... Go.

Good. Let's get the ID going.

I'd like the penicillin started. Stat.

Understand? Yes, doctor.

He wanted to leave. I think he checked out.

You don't know my brother. He wouldn't leave without that.

Where's the chart? It's not here. He checked out.

Okay, where's Tyler? In O .R. O .R.

Sir, I'm sorry. No, this is not allowed in O .R.

Call for charity.

The innervenous penicillin is ready, Dr. Tyler.

Go ahead.

Start giving it to him.

Start it, Doctor.

It'll take a few minutes to get to him.

Let's speed things up, shall we?

I'd like to cut as soon as possible.

Mr. Kaplan has an infected cyst that is putting excessive pressure on his spinal

cord. It shouldn't wait.

I'll make the incision now.

I'm sure in your line of work you know what happens to a fellow when his neck

snaps. My brother better be okay. He's okay.

He's okay, I'm telling you, he's okay. Let's go check on him.

Something happens inside of a man like Lloyd Tyler.

Nothing a surgeon can help, Kyle.

Not even the new chief of surgery.

Yeah, congratulations.

It's okay. I guess San Quentin will welcome Dr. Tyler and his medical

whatever's left of them.

I, um, I want to thank you for all you've done. I'm very grateful.

Excuse me.

You know, Doc, uh, it wouldn't hurt for you to stop and smell the flowers every

once in a while.

Remember, it's good to be alive.

What flower?