I was a defendant today!!

You'll never guess what I did today.....


I was a defendant in a medical malpractice case!! (Don't worry, it was a mock trial- i wasn't actually on trial or anything!)


It was a very interesting experience. Court is a very peculiar place for someone like me, who never saw the inside of a courtroom ever- except in movies and on Law and Order. We had real lawyers and a real judge, but the rest of the "cast" was played by us students.


Even though it was a fake trial, I felt a lot of emotions that I think real people in trials feel. I felt very confident when my attorney was asking me questions (b/c we had rehearsed them), but I felt very uncomfortable and defensive when the other attorney was asking me questions on cross examination.


I felt that we presented a pretty good case (that the doctor (me) followed the standard of care in this particular case) and the jury came back with a verdict for us.


It was a lot of fun. I enjoyed playing the defendant (Dr. R.O. Gant- say it outloud). I can definitely see though how some of these cases end up with multimillion dollar settlements. Our plantiff's attorney wasn't even a malpractice attorney and made a very convincing argument (playing on emotion) that his client needed the jury to find for her (even though the evidence was less than adequate).


The trial concluded not only my week, but my entire third year of medical school. I am now officially a fourth year student!!