Law & Order/Recap/S01/E01 Prescription for Death

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< Law & Order‎ | Recap‎ | S01


A teenage girl named Suzanne Morton dies in a hospital emergency room during a busy night shift. Her father, a former medic himself, says she only came in with a fever and accuses the hospital of negligence. Detectives Mike Logan and Max Greevey are called in to investigate. They soon discover a doctor made adjustments to her chart about which medication she was given, and from that are led to Dr. Edward Auster, one of the most experienced and respected doctors at the hospital. They find out from several witnesses that he was in fact a heaver drinker, and from what several of the other doctors there on the night Suzanne died said assume that he was drunk on duty and gave her the wrong medication, which killed her.

Unfortunately, the other residents are reluctant to speak for fear their jobs may be in jeopardy, and EADA Ben Stone is faced with the awkward job of prosecuting a revered physician. The trial quickly turns into question of whether Dr. Auster is still able to perform his duties competantly whilst under the influence of what he claims is a small amount of alcohol, and Stone has trouble proving he isn't. However, during a recess in the trial, Greevey notices that Auster had a fair bit to drink at lunch. He tells Stone, and during his examination of Stone, he asks Auster if he's had anything to drink. Auster replies in the affirmative, and Stone then asks him to perform a test police officers use on suspected drink drivers - namely, attempting to touch his nose with his eyes closed. He fails miserably, and is found guilty.

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