L.A. Law (TV Series)

Blood, Sweat and Fears (1990)

Stanley Kamel: Mark Gilliam

Quotes 

• Mark Gilliam : And how soon after the accident did the ambulance arrive?

  Susan Parral : Maybe 15 minutes. And it was probably another 10 before we got to Cedric's.

  Mark Gilliam : And that will be Cedrics Israel Hospital.

  Susan Parral : Yes, they wheeled him right in. Some... nurses or paramedics or something checked him over but they weren't really able to help much. After a few minutes, he came.

  Mark Gilliam : Let the record reflect that the witness has indicated the defendant, Dr. Michael Dayan. And what happened then, Mrs. Parral?

  Susan Parral : We went into a little room and I think they took blood. And then they took him off for tests. And then Dr. Dayan came back and said that there was something wrong with his spleen, and that they'd have to operate right away.

  Mark Gilliam : And what happened then?

  Susan Parral : They took him off to prep, and they put me in a room where I could wait. About 1/2 hour or so, the doctor comes back and says he's not going to do the surgery.

  Mark Gilliam : Did the doctor tell you why not?

  Susan Parral : Yes, he says it was because my husband had AIDs. He said it would be too dangerous.

  Mark Gilliam : Too dangerous for whom?

  Susan Parral : Too dangerous for him, the doctor. He told me not to worry, that he'd get another doctor to do it. But that he wasn't going to operate. And then he left the room.

  Mark Gilliam : And when was the next time that you saw Dr. Dayan?

  Susan Parral : About an hour later. He came back in the room and he told me... He told me Warren was dead.

  Mark Gilliam : Thank you, Mrs. Parral.

• Victor Sifuentes : Okay, 75,000.

  Mark Gilliam : Not a chance.

  Victor Sifuentes : Come on, Mark, you can't show damages here. You had a 3 month life expectancy and no lost income. I'm throwing you a bone.

  Mark Gilliam : We're not going for wrongful death here, Victor, I'm going for hedonics. Loss of enjoyment of life.

  Victor Sifuentes : How much enjoyment did he have coming to him, Mark? He was a month away from his organs beginning to shut down. If anything, this thing spared him tremendous suffering.

  Mark Gilliam : Your guy cost Warren Parral the rest of his life. I'm not forgiving that for 75 grand. Sorry.

  Victor Sifuentes : You going to take this offer to your client, Mark?

  Mark Gilliam : Yes, Victor, I'll tell her, and I'll tell her not to accept it.

  Victor Sifuentes : You told her everything?

  Mark Gilliam : Meaning what? Have I told her that I have AIDs?

  Victor Sifuentes : Look, Mark, I'm sorry, I just don't want to see your judgment here clouded by your own personal situation.

  Mark Gilliam : She knows about my situation, Victor. And she knows me to be an honest attorney who would never compromise his client's interest just to make a point, even if I'm dying.

  Victor Sifuentes : I'm sorry, Mark, that was out of line.

  Mark Gilliam : Your offer is rejected.

• Mark Gilliam : Dr. Dayan... you let a man die because he had AIDS?

  Dr. Michael Dayan : I decline to operate because I didn't want to die of AIDS.

  Mark Gilliam : Well, what exactly are the odds of contracting aids in that way, Doctor?

  Dr. Michael Dayan : Laws are only significant if you're willing to gamble, Counselor, I'm not.

  Mark Gilliam : Ever, uh, operate on a patient who was infected with Hepatitis B?

  Dr. Michael Dayan : Yes.

  Mark Gilliam : Well, I'm confused, is there? Hepatitis B is a deadly disease which is more easily transmitted than the HIV virus. You don't mind dying from hepatitis?

  Dr. Michael Dayan : First of all, Hepatitis B is not always fatal. There is a treatment for Hepatitis B. There is no cure for AIDS. If you get it, you died.

  Mark Gilliam : Well, over 200 healthcare workers die every year from Hepatitis B. Only 19 have ever contracted the HIX virus from job exposure and none have died.

  Dr. Michael Dayan : We don't know how many doctors have contracted the HIV virus. This disease has a long incubation period, Counselor, there could be thousands of healthcare workers out there who have this disease and don't know it.

  Mark Gilliam : Warren and Susan Parrel counted on you. They went to the hospital for help and what they got was a doctor who discriminates against patients on the basis of what diseases they have.

  Dr. Michael Dayan : [Pointing the finger]  Do you see those kids over there, Counselor? They count on me, too. They count on having a father around when they grow up.

  Mark Gilliam : You took a note to save lives, and you let him die?

  Dr. Michael Dayan : He was going to die anyway.

  Mark Gilliam : So are we all, Doctor. We're all just trying to put that day off for as long as we can.

  Dr. Michael Dayan : Have you ever been in an OR, Counselor? We are passing around razor sharp instruments that can cut through your gloves that can cut your hand.

  Mark Gilliam : Move to strike.

  Dr. Michael Dayan : And if you're asking me to risk my life to buy three extra months for a man who's likely to spend them an excruciating agony? Yes. It's not worth it.

• Mark Gilliam : And what is your opinion, Dr. Petit, of the defendant's conduct that night at the hospital?

  Dr. John Petit : His conduct was atrocious. The code of ethics promulgated by the American Medical Association requires him to treat that patient is in the emergency room, for God's sake, he has a legal obligation to treat him.

  Mark Gilliam : Even if the patient has a deadly infectious disease?

  Dr. John Petit : We're doctors. We've been treating deadly diseases for 100 years. Tuberculosis, malaria, yellow fever, smallpox. Those are all once deadly diseases.

  Mark Gilliam : So his conduct then, in your opinion, was a breath of the accepted standard of medical care?

  Dr. John Petit : He let a man die because he had AIDS. That's an affront to every decent doctor in this country.

  Mark Gilliam : Thank you, sir. Nothing further.