- When a patient bleeds to death during a routine hernia operation, his widow wants answers, yet she finds few forthcoming, so she asks the Prestons help. The lawyer and his son work on the case, finding the doctors and staff of the hospital closing ranks, except for a young intern with a guilty conscience.—WesternOne
- A man enters a hospital lobby with his wife. He is to undergo surgery for a hernia and should be there for only a day. He urges his wife to leave since his operation is scheduled at 11 p.m. and she has to pick up their child from school. The next thing we see is the man laying in a casket during his funeral service. The wife asks the Prestons to find out what happened and the senior Preston warns her that it will be extremely difficult to find a doctor willing to testify that a mistake was made in her husband's case. The hospital refuses to give the Prestons a copy of the man's hospital records and Dr. Morgan, the operating room physician, is offended that his actions are being questioned. When another doctor who was present at the operation is approached, his wife - a nurse at the hospital - rebuffs any attempt to call Dr. Morgan's actions into question. It turns out that the patient was a hemopheliac and the doctors could not control the bleeding during the operation. As predicted, several doctors who the Prestons approach refuse to testify against Dr. Morgan. However, the second doctor who was present at the operation begins to have qualms about Dr. Morgan's attitude that any suit against him will hurt the medical profession. At the trial, Dr. Morgan admits that he rushed the patient into surgery at 4 p.m. instead of 11 p.m. because the operating room wasn't being used and could be needed for an emergency at 11 p.m. The operating room nurse admits she had trouble stopping the bleeding when she took a sample of the patient's blood prior to the operation but refuses to admit that this was a warning sign that should have been investigated. All in all, the trial is not going well for the Prestons. However, the second doctor who was present at the operation unexpectedly enters the courtroom and the elder Preston calls him to the witness stand. Before he can testify, the attorney for the hospital decides to settle the case. Dr. Morgan talks with the other doctor and concludes that they just have a difference in opinion - he will not hold a grudge against the man. But he cannot bring himself to apologize to the dead man's wife when she leaves the courtroom.
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