When he received the foot-tall stack of records, Johnny Bob set them on the floor beside his desk. He would take a Saturday when the office was quiet to study them. It was a job that he had done literally hundreds of times in his career, maybe thousands. Every case he had ever handled had medical aspects to it. Over the years he began to understand what the records meant, what to look for, what might be missing, and even how to do a reasonable interpretation of a doctor's henscratching. What he didn't understand he would hand to Mildred Montgomery, his nurse-paralegal of twenty years. She had been an ICU nurse at Parkland Hospital in Dallas before burning out. She moved to Palestine, expecting to get a less demanding job in the local hospital. Instead, she ended up with Johnny Bob. Together, they missed very little.
Johnny Bob started with the various medical records early on the next Saturday morning. He could see damages big enough to ring the cash register well into seven figures if he could just establish liability. He was satisfied that he could paint Lucy as a victim in every sense of the word. According to her aunt, she had been raped. Her decision was that of a seventeen-year-old girl with nowhere to turn. She almost died from the complications of the abortion. The medical bills were in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. The emotional scarring would be with her for the rest of her life. She might not be able to have children.
What about liability? Who breached the standard of care? The information that T. J. had obtained on Dr. Moyo showed him to be competent. Both complications, perforation and retained fetal parts, were known risks of the procedure. However, it was very unusual for a good doctor to have both complications in one abortion. That was worth further analysis. What about the antibiotics? He would have Mildred check them out on Monday, although he didn't really expect to find anything. Surely, Population Planning, an agency that did abortions all over the country, would know which antibiotics to use. What about Saturday and Sunday? Should they have gotten her to the clinic? Would it have made any difference? These were questions that would have to be answered by an expert. Still, chances were good that somewhere he could find an obstetrician to swear that the clinic failed in its standard of care when Lucy made those two phone calls.
By the time Johnny Bob waded through all of the records, it was dark and he was ready to call it a day. He locked up the office, the same one that he and Judge Arbuckle had first occupied thirty years ago, only now he had the whole third floor. Before climbing into the pick-up, he unlocked the refrigerator and extracted a Lone Star tall boy. As he drove through the piney woods, Lone Star in one hand and listening to Willie Nelson on a CD, he let his mind surf through what he had learned and thought about the questions that needed to be answered. He still wasn't sure that he wanted the case, not even for two million dollars.
Suddenly, it hit him like a Texas tornado, right out of nowhere. He slammed his fist on the steering wheel, let out a whoop, and turned his siren on as high as it could go. He had himself a lawsuit. A damn good one at that. He kept the siren on all the way home and bursting through the ranch house door, beer in hand, he yelled, "Bernice, we've got ourselves a lawsuit and a ring tail tooter of one at that."
Bernice was the quiet one of the family. She really had little choice after being married to Johnny Bob for more than thirty years. As she gave him a kiss on the cheek, she replied, "Well, I kinda figured that there must be something exciting happening. It's not very often that I hear your siren from a mile away."
"Bernice, you're not going to believe this. I spent all day going over those abortion records and came up with some good questions and possibly some good answers. Only it didn't hit me until five minutes ago. This little lady, Lucy, was seventeen when she had that abortion. These clinics claim it's okay to perform an abortion on a girl of her age, and like any other medical procedure, they made her sign a consent form. That consent form lists every possible risk of abortion, including death, paralysis, and the complications that she developed. Shit, I'm surprised that it didn't advise her of what could happen if she didn't pay her taxes."
"Johnny Bob, don't cuss in the house. You know I don't like it."
"Sorry, dear. I just got carried away. Anyway, she signed off on the consent form, but her parents didn't. Hell, whoops, sorry dear, her parents didn't even know about it. A child can't consent to anything in this state. When you get to be eighteen, you can sign a contract, go off to war, and consent to a medical procedure. Without a valid consent, that doctor and that clinic committed an assault on her. If they assaulted her, we can collect actual damages, punitive damages, too. Now, we're kinda sailing in uncharted waters here since I don't think there's ever been an appellate case about a minor consenting to abortion. Still, the legal theories are sound as a five-dollar gold piece. Hang on, Bernice, this may be the case to cap my career. Now what's for supper?"
Johnny Bob had a case, and his gut told him that it would only get better once discovery was underway. After dinner he picked up the phone and called The City of Miracles. At first the operator didn't want to put him through to T. J., advising in no uncertain terms that The Chosen would not take phone calls after nine on Saturday night since he had to rest and pray in preparation for the next morning's service. After hearing Johnny Bob's threat to drive all the way to Fort Worth and blast everyone in the place awake with a siren at midnight, she switched to another line. T. J. picked up.
"What's up, Johnny Bob? It's a little late to be calling a preacher on Saturday night."
Johnny Bob thought he sounded like he had been dipping a little too heavily in the sacramental wine. "T. J., you get that family up to your office on Monday morning. I'm ready to sign them up. We've got us a lawsuit. Also, you be thinking about where you want to deposit that two million, pending the likelihood that I'm going to get more. See you Monday morning at ten in your office."
After he hung up the phone, T. J. took his wine out to the balcony and sat in one of the wrought iron chairs as he contemplated the events that were to unfold. While he found Lucy to be a very attractive young woman, he was not really interested in her welfare. He saw her only as someone he could use to further his quest for power. He would befriend her and use her, then drop her back into her Aunt Jessie's lap when he achieved his goal. He raised his glass to the nighttime sky and toasted himself, "Here's to The Chosen. He's come a long way from the county jail, but it's only just the beginning."
***
Bo, Joanna, and Lucy were nervous as they stepped off the elevator with Jessie. She told Bo and Joanna to fly to Fort Worth on Sunday night because Reverend Luther wanted to see them on Monday morning. They were greeted by T. J. and a big man wearing a dark, pin-striped suit and red tie. Johnny Bob dressed for the occasion.
Lucy had made remarkable outward improvement since The Chosen had healed her. She joined in conversations, enjoyed going for walks with her Aunt Jessie, and seemed to be in good spirits. By mutual agreement, she continued to live with Jessie, being tutored by teachers who came daily to Jessie's house.
"Lucy, how fine you're looking," complimented T. J. "Thanks for coming, Mr. and Mrs. Brady. This is J. Robert Tisdale, a lawyer from over Palestine way. Mr. Tisdale and I have a proposal for you. Please sit down. Go ahead, Johnny Bob." As he spoke to Lucy, T. J. could not see Jessie glaring at him.
After they had taken their seats, the lawyer began. "Lucy, Mrs. Brady, Mr. Brady, I'm a plaintiff lawyer. That means I represent victims of wrongdoing. Reverend Luther asked me to look at your case. He wanted me to see if what happened to you was just a complication of the procedure or whether it involved medical negligence. I spent most of the weekend going over your medical records, and I'm satisfied that you were a victim of substandard care on the part of the doctor and Population Planning. Additionally, Lucy, you're only seventeen and didn't have the authority to consent to the procedure without a parent's approval."
Bo and Joanna didn't know what to say and turned to Jessie with blank looks on their faces. Never at a loss for words, Jessie jumped in.
"First of all, T. J., I'm upset with you because you didn't tell me the truth about why you wanted those medical authorizations."
"Forgive me, Jessie," T. J. responded as he wiggled around the accusation. "I assumed that Mr. Tisdale would be having the medical records reviewed by a doctor. I'm certain that is still to come."
"Mr. Tisdale, let's get to the bottom line here," Jessie continued. "I know you and your reputation. You sued one of my husband's dealerships when he was alive. The case involved a salesman who took his demonstrator home on a Saturday night. He stopped a little too long at his neighborhood icehouse, busted a red light and smashed into a car occupied by your four clients. As I recall, you collected about half a million dollars from our insurance company. All that tells me is that I'd rather have you on our side than against us. There's no doubt that Lucy has been badly hurt by this whole incident and the damage will be with her for the rest of her life. What kind of money are we talking about here?"
"Mrs. Woolsey, I've reached that stage in my career where I don't take on small cases. If I didn't think that this one had the potential for a verdict well into seven figures, I wouldn't be here."
That got their attention.
"There are some other issues that need to be discussed and I think that Reverend Luther is the one to address them. T. J.?"
"I want Lucy to recover damages and I want them to be big. No amount of money can compensate her for what she has been through. I also have other reasons for taking on this mission. I don't want any other girl to go through what Lucy has suffered. I'm against abortion. My church is against abortion. The issue is a major one in the current presidential election and has been simmering on the front burner in our country since the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973. At times it's flared up only to die down to a simmer again. I want to turn up the heat so that it becomes a roaring fire. I want this to be the catalyst that will cause public opinion to come down against abortion once and for all. If we can use what happened to Lucy to focus our efforts and make our politicians take a stand, we can force a vote on Roe v. Wade and kill this abortion monster. If not, I want your case to send a message to every abortion doctor and clinic in the country. They need to know that they may be next. I want to drive a stake through the heart of this devil, and I want Johnny Bob here to be the one with the sledge hammer."
T. J.'s speech got Joanna's attention. As a devout born-again Christian, she was staunchly anti-abortion. Knowing what abortion had done to her child and her family, she didn't want any other girl to go through Lucy's nightmare. She turned to Johnny Bob.
"Mr. Tisdale, Lucy has already been through more than any girl should have to. What's going to be involved in this?"
"Well, Mrs. Brady, I wish that I could tell you that it will be easy. I can't. Lawsuits are emotionally draining. The lawyers on the other side will be top notch. They'll throw up every obstacle they possibly can. Lucy will have to testify at a deposition and at trial. So will you, Bo and Jessie. To accomplish what T. J. wants, it will become a media circus. As we get close to trial you'll run into reporters and television cameras everywhere you turn. I'll tell you not to worry about it. You will. I'll tell you not to lose sleep over it. You will. While it's nothing like what Lucy has already been through, it won't be easy."
Lucy had been silent. She raised her hand. "Can we sue Jason along with the doctor and the clinic?"
"Lucy, honey, I assume that Jason is the boy that attacked you. I know that you would like to punish him, and there's no doubt that he deserves it. If I'm to be your lawyer, I would advise against it," Tisdale replied. "He is still only a teenager and doesn't have any money. To sue him would just serve to divert attention away from Dr. Moyo and Population Planning. Besides, if we did, we'd have to get into the debate about whether you consented or were raped. I don't see any good coming out of that fight."
Lucy looked to T. J. for support for her request. When she saw that he was shaking his head, she lowered her eyes and stared at the floor.
"And how do you get paid, Mr. Tisdale?" asked Jessie.
"My standard contract is for forty percent of any recovery. Reverend Luther has generously guaranteed my expenses and a minimum attorney's fee. Your family won't be out one penny. Lucy, do you understand what we have discussed? You'll be eighteen soon and will be the one with the final say-so by the time this gets to trial."
"Yes, sir. I think I understand. My mom and dad and Aunt Jessie will be the ones to make the decision for now. I'll do whatever they say. Also, considering what The Chosen did for me, I'm one of his biggest admirers and I would do anything to help him out." As she spoke, she turned to smile at T. J. He returned her smile with a quick wink.
Jessie intervened once more, again noting Lucy's smile at T. J. "We'll all go back to my house to discuss it. We may even have a little prayer. We'll let you know our decision tomorrow. If we decide to do it, we'll be out here in the morning to sign the papers."
As T. J. and Johnny Bob watched Jessie's Jaguar leave The City, Johnny Bob asked, "Well, T. J. where do you place your bet?"
"Being a man of the cloth, of course, I'm not a betting man. However, I can tell you the fix is in. I've already spoken to my Father and He has assured me that they will join our little crusade." And that wasn't all that Reverend Luther would fix over the next several months.
CHAPTER 32
As if directed by prophecy, the family was back at ten the next morning. Contracts were signed all around, with Johnny Bob cautioning Lucy that the day she turned eighteen she would have to sign one herself.
T. J. and Johnny Bob had work to do before the suit could be filed. Texas law required that before a health care provider could be sued, the provider had to be given sixty days written notice. Johnny Bob prepared two letters, one to Dr. Moyo and one to Population Planning. The letters were similar and very standard. Dr. Moyo's read as follows:
Dear Dr. Moyo:
I represent Randall 'Bo' Brady, Joanna Brady, and their daughter, Lucy Brady. You performed an abortion on Lucy Brady at the Population Planning Clinic in Houston, Texas. As a result of that procedure, Lucy and her parents sustained damages arising from various breaches of the appropriate medical standards of care by you and the personnel at the clinic. Additionally, because Lucy was under the age of eighteen at the time, you and the clinic will be charged with assault.
Please accept this letter as notice under Article 4590i that I will be bringing a claim for medical malpractice and damages on their behalf. I am enclosing a copy of this letter for you to provide to your insurance company. I invite you, your attorney or your insurance company to contact me within sixty days. If this matter is not resolved in that time, then suit will be filed against you and Population Planning without further notice.
Very truly yours,
J. Robert Tisdale
Attorney at Law
Texas law also required that if Johnny Bob was going to sue a health care provider, he had to file a report with the court from an expert who was critical of the defendants. If he could get the report by the time he filed suit, he would attach it as an exhibit to the petition. Might as well show the defendants that he was damn serious. He called on his friend, Doc Rusk, for this task. They had fished and hunted together for twenty years and Dr. Rusk had delivered Johnny Bob's grand kids. Doc Rusk didn't like malpractice suits and had little use for plaintiff lawyers, Johnny Bob excepted. Still, he didn't want Rusk to testify against another doctor, just to write a report. Johnny Bob picked up the phone and called the doctor's office.
"Alice, Johnny Bob here. Is the old sawbones around?"
"Johnny Bob, I wish you'd quit calling him that. He's a woman's doctor. He hasn't sawed a bone since medical school. Hold on. I'll see if he can come to the phone."
Momentarily, Dr. Rusk picked up the phone. "Hey, Tank. How's it going? I bet you heard about the bass starting to hit over at the reservoir. You want to take a drive over there Saturday morning?"
"Sounds good to me, only that's not what I'm
calling about. I need a little help on a malpractice case I'm fixing to file down in Houston."
"Tank, you know I don't like malpractice cases. I've been delivering babies for twenty-five years now and I never deliver one without worrying that if this one doesn't have all ten fingers and toes and doesn't come out looking like John Wayne or Marilyn Monroe, I'll get my ass sued. I've been fortunate that the worst I've had was a clubfoot or two that could be fixed with a little casting or surgery. But since it's you, I'll listen. What do you want me to do?"
"Bud, you're showing your age there a little. John Wayne or Marilyn Monroe? How about Tom Cruise or Julia Roberts instead? My case involves a botched abortion. You ever performed abortions?"
After a pause, his friend lowered his voice. "It's not something that I like to talk about in public. I'm generally against abortions and send women elsewhere if they just don't want the kid. Two or three times a year, I have a patient where there's a significant risk to the mother if she continues a pregnancy. Then I'll do one, but only if it's in the first eighteen weeks."
"That'll do. I just need for you to be able to say you're familiar with the medical standards for performing an abortion. All I want you to do is review the medical records. If you agree with what I think is malpractice, write a letter and say so. The defendants are a Dr. Moyo and Population Planning, both down in Houston. Let me tell you what happened and I'll send you the records."
Johnny Bob described the events surrounding Lucy's abortion, using medical terms that were actually as familiar to him as to Doctor Rusk. When he finished, Bud agreed that if the medical records supported what Johnny Bob told him, it was malpractice. He would be willing to write the letter, particularly since it was an abortion case. Additionally, the defendant doctor was one hundred and fifty miles away. Nonetheless, he made it clear that no amount of money or friendship would cause him to testify against another doctor. They worked out the arrangements for fishing on Saturday and ended the call. J. Robert Tisdale was making just the progress he expected.
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