Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 379 - 377: Director Sheng Appears in Court, Deliberately Slandered?

Chapter 379: Chapter 377: Director Sheng Appears in Court, Deliberately Slandered?

After Zhang Wei gave an accurate account of that night’s events, he actually won some support from the jurors for Jessica.

Even the court’s atmosphere slightly leaned towards the defense.

Feeling that his side had gained a bit of advantage, Zhang Wei thought it was time to press forward.

He immediately approached his father-in-law, Xia Donghai.

"Xia Field Officer, you testified earlier that you made two trips from the scene of the car accident to the city hospital, right?"

"Yes!"

Xia Donghai nodded.

He had transported two groups of people to the city hospital; the second group wasn’t seriously injured, and he also helped out at the hospital.

"So, on your second visit to the city hospital, did you see my client?"

"After she finished a surgery, I saw her," Xia Donghai affirmed.

"What was she doing at the time?"

"That day, the doctors were all very busy, and your client was no exception. She rested for less than five minutes, then hurried to the next surgery. She only came out when I was about to leave, and by then I could tell she was very tired!"

Xia Donghai naturally knew what Zhang Wei was going to ask, and he also knew he couldn’t lie in court and had to tell what really happened that night.

"What time did you leave?"

"Around 1 a.m. It was then that your mother-in-law... cough cough, Qing Hua called me several times late at night, urging me to hurry home!"

Xia Donghai nearly misspoke and hastily coughed, correcting himself.

"1 a.m.!"

Zhang Wei remarked with a tone of reverence, then addressed the jury, "I believe that at this time, many people were already deep in sleep, yet my client was still saving patients!"

"Even after that, she performed two more surgeries, not finishing until 4 a.m., before she could leave work and rest in her own apartment!"

"Why such back-to-back, high-intensity surgeries? What for?"

Delivering this last line, Zhang Wei’s voice grew increasingly passionate, "Isn’t it all to save lives, to rescue the severely injured patients?"

The jury seemed touched as well, involuntarily nodding their heads, looking at Jessica with a degree of admiration.

This time, they had finally gained the upper hand.

Zhang Wei could see that, out of the six jurors, at least four now looked favorably upon Jessica.

"Thank you, Xia Field Officer, for your statement. We have no further questions!"

Finally, Zhang Wei thanked him and concluded the cross-examination.

Xia Donghai smiled and nodded at Zhang Wei and Ni Qiuping, then returned to the front row of the witness bench, sitting next to Xia Qianyue.

Zhang Wei also returned to his seat at the defense bench.

"Zhang, thank you!"

Jessica was moved and couldn’t resist thanking him.

"Don’t rush, this is just the beginning!"

But Zhang Wei’s expression was still grave, and when he looked at Qin Shaocong next door, there was a hint of subtle vigilance.

The previous two witnesses, Zhou Sanliang and Xia Donghai, were not actually the main focus.

Zhang Wei knew what kind of person Zhou Sanliang was, and so did Qin Shaocong.

This man just wanted to stir trouble and seek compensation; his intention was clear, and his methods were not sophisticated.

Having him testify in court could never be a knock-out blow.

As for Xia Donghai, Zhang Wei’s father-in-law, how could he truly collude with Qin Shaocong? It was merely the latter’s way to disgust people.

"You like summoning all kinds of weird witnesses, Zhang Wei? Then I’ll summon your father-in-law just to disgust you," that’s probably what Qin Shaocong was thinking.

So, the next witness would be key!

Or rather, the next witness was where Qin Shaocong’s trump card lay.

"Prosecution?" Judge Ni looked towards the prosecution bench.

"Judge Ni, the prosecution requests to summon Director Sheng to testify," Qin Shaocong stood up and announced the next witness.

At the witness bench, Director Sheng also stood up and walked towards the courtroom.

"Director Sheng?"

Seeing this person take the stand, Zhang Wei’s eyebrows furrowed.

This person was hostile toward Jessica and was also her nominal superior.

"Jessica, may I ask if Director Sheng has any particular opinion of you, such as..."

"I’ve never made a mistake in my work!"

"I’m not talking about that. I believe you would never make a mistake in your work, but sometimes, what causes you trouble isn’t the job, but..."

Zhang Wei glanced at the person beside him, implying the remainder of the sentence without having to say it.

Sometimes, what brings trouble to a woman is that she’s too beautiful.

In the courtroom, Director Sheng was already seated at the witness stand.

"Hello, Director Sheng, could you please introduce to the court your relationship with the defendant."

"I am the head of the ER at the municipal hospital and the person in charge of the medical mutual aid system, appointed by the hospital dean. Moreover, I’m the defendant’s supervisor and superior during her time at the hospital."

"So, you were the defendant’s superior at the hospital?"

"You could say that!"

Director Sheng said and explained, "Of course, our superior-subordinate relationship is because of the medical mutual aid system. Generally speaking, I’m more like her surgical guardian, supervising and being responsible for her medical conduct in the ER."

Qin Shaocong nodded, then followed with a question, "Then, Director Sheng, on the day of the incident at the ER, were you also present at the site?"

"Of course, with such a serious accident having happened that day, I was definitely there. In fact, not only me, but the majority of doctors from surgery and internal medicine also participated in the resuscitation efforts that day!"

"It must have been tough, with everyone so busy until late!"

Qin Shaocong echoed Zhang Wei’s tone with a sigh.

"So, I would like to ask if all the doctors were really that busy that day?"

"Of course, we were all busy until the early hours until the condition of all emergency patients had stabilized. Only then could we finish our shifts. That night, we were all busy until the early hours."

"But the speech by the defense lawyer just now made it sound like the defendant was the only one busy all night, while everyone else seemed to have left early?"

"Heh, that’s his strategy, trying to elicit sympathy for the defendant!"

Director Sheng looked toward the defense bench and scoffed, "In fact, all of our medical staff were exhausted that day, not just the defendant. Some doctors even, after enduring an entire night, only slept for two hours and then resumed their ward rounds in the morning!"

"In contrast, the defendant worked only in the afternoons, and she could have gone back to rest in the morning. Her daily workload was also much lighter than that of our resident doctors. I’m not sure why the defense is emphasizing the defendant’s work being tough. Apart from that day, her work intensity was much less than our hospital’s physicians for every other time period!"

This answer pleased Qin Shaocong.

He looked toward the jury and indeed saw the previously sympathetic and admiring looks replaced by doubt.

Director Sheng’s testimony had an effect, casting doubt on Jessica among the jury members.

From the defense bench.

"That’s not right, I remember you said more than once that your workload was very high?"

Zhang Wei looked at Jessica, with a puzzled expression.

"Yes, I am puzzled too. Among the doctors participating in the medical mutual aid project, I was the only one responsible for multiple patients daily, while the number of patients seen by the other doctors was only half of mine."

"Has it been like this since the beginning?"

"It wasn’t at first, but from a certain day on, I felt my workload increase."

"A certain day?"

Zhang Wei realized that something must have happened on this certain day.

"Jessica, can you tell me about the conversations you had with Director Sheng before and after that day, as accurately as possible?"

"Oh, I just remember during those few days, Director Sheng kept wanting to take me out to dinner, saying he admired my medical skills and wanted to guide me in some matters, but I knew his intentions weren’t pure, so I just..."

Jessica began recounting her work experience, while Zhang Wei not only listened intently but also nodded and took notes.

These details would become his breakthrough in questioning Director Sheng.

In the courtroom.

The prosecution’s questioning continued.

"Director Sheng, the defense earlier mentioned a key technique, called resuscitative something artery something surgery, sorry the name is quite long, and I can’t quite remember..."

Hearing Qin Shaocong’s question, Director Sheng replied simply and to the point, "Resuscitative Endovascular Balloon Occlusion of the Aorta, or REBOA for short."

"Oh, REBOA, yes, that’s indeed easier to remember."

Qin Shaocong nodded before immediately asking, "Then, this surgery technique, would you use it?"

"I know how to use it, but I also don’t use it!"

"What do you mean by that?"

Director Sheng shook his head decisively and said, "In fact, in my 20 years of medical experience, I have never recommended this technique to the subordinates I supervise, nor to the interns. This emergency measure carries certain side effects, and if not controlled properly, it can cause irreversible complications and side effects to the patient’s body!"

"For example?" Qin Shaocong immediately pressed on.

Glancing around the room, Director Sheng explained, "First of all, contraindications for the REBOA technique include cardiac tamponade and aortic dissection, and it should absolutely not be used for penetrating injuries in the neck or chest, or blunt trauma to the heart or aorta. Instead, resuscitative thoracotomy would be more advantageous."

"Secondly, although REBOA can save lives, it can also lead to serious complications, including accidental ischemia, pseudoaneurysms, spinal cord injury, limb amputation, and thrombosis!"

"Therefore, unless it’s absolutely necessary, I generally would not recommend my subordinates use this technique. Once you use REBOA, you must be prepared to make a choice between these complications and the risk of death due to hemorrhage. You need to weigh which outcome will be more severe."

"Hmm..." Qin Shaocong nodded with a half-understanding.

Director Sheng naturally saw what the other was implying and immediately provided an example, "In fact, I have a reference case here, a true event I encountered when I first participated in a warzone doctor program."

"At that time, a doctor in our group, who also mastered the REBOA technique, successfully saved a soldier from the War Department during a wartime rescue."

"Unfortunately, the soldier suffered from complications of REBOA and died of sepsis 10 days after the procedure. The cause of death was excessive bleeding during the transfer process."

As he spoke, Director Sheng’s tone was tinged with helplessness and sorrow, "A young man died just like that, because the physical damage caused by REBOA was irreversible."

"So, was that soldier in pain when he died?"

"Of course, he..."

"Objection, inflammatory remarks, hearsay evidence!"

Zhang Wei immediately stood up in protest.

"Objection..." Ni Qiuping was about to agree with Zhang Wei, but realizing that the jury seemed to want to know the answer, she was forced to make a decision.

"Objection overruled, the court would also like to know about the young soldier’s condition."

"Old Ni, that’s not fair!"

Zhang Wei complained to himself, but he still reluctantly sat down.

He could clearly see what the jury and those in the audience wanted to know, yet such statements were undeniably inflammatory, and their truthfulness was even uncertain.

Everyone knew that Director Sheng was telling a story, but many still wanted to hear the ending.

Seeing Zhang Wei’s objection refuted by Ni Qiuping, Qin Shaocong smiled.

"Director Sheng, please tell everyone about that young soldier’s condition?"

"Alright!"

Director Sheng seemed to be recalling the past as he said, "His cause of death was sepsis, and here I would like to explain the symptoms of sepsis. It originates from various pathogens invading the blood circulation, growing and proliferating in the blood, and producing toxins, which lead to acute systemic infections."

"Given the rough conditions at the time, failing to carry out proper disinfection and protection measures, infection was an inevitable outcome."

"Sepsis with multiple abscesses leading to a prolonged course is known as pyosepticemia, clinically presenting with acute onset, chills, high fever, rapid breathing, tachycardia, as well as rash, joint swelling and pain, liver and spleen enlargement, and mental and consciousness changes. In severe cases, acute organ dysfunction can occur, and as the condition worsens, it can develop into septic shock, disseminated intravascular coagulation, and multiple organ failure."

"In his final moments, the soldier did not seem at ease, and he was almost delirious, barely able to speak. However, I could see it in his eyes; he was longing for death, wishing to end his own suffering."

Many people expressed sympathy upon hearing this.

It was indeed too painful.

The courtroom was silent for more than ten seconds when Qin Shaocong suddenly spoke up.

"So, Director Sheng, since the REBOA technique can have such severe complications, and you also do not agree with emergency doctors using it, then why would the defendant still use this technique?"

"Because the defendant has ignored advice more than once!"

Director Sheng looked towards the defendant’s dock, towards Jessica, and snorted coldly, "The defendant’s father is the internationally renowned shell expert Dr. Fergus, and obviously, he taught his daughter the REBOA technique!"

"And the defendant, relying on her father’s authority, is very confident in her own skills, even to the point of blindness. Despite my repeated warnings, she insisted on going her own way!"

"Are you saying that the defendant, relying on her skills, would persist in actions that harm patients, regardless of the cost?"

After analyzing the situation, Qin Shaocong couldn’t help saying, "That is truly malevolent, to think that her skills can override the will of the patients, and their health!"

"Objection, inflammatory statement!"

Zhang Wei stood up again, interrupting Qin Shaocong while looking towards the judge’s bench.

His eyes carried a subtle hint: Old Ni, you were unfair before, what are you going to do this time?

"Objection sustained!"

This time, Ni Qiuping did not indulge but decisively agreed.

"Fine, I take back what I just said!"

Qin Shaocong sneered coldly, but in fact, he had already achieved his goal.

Even if he took it back, the jury and the audience had indeed heard that sentence.

The spread of sound cannot be stopped.

Qin Shaocong, however, showed no signs of stopping and continued to inquire, "Director Sheng, you just mentioned the term ’wilfully obstinate’, didn’t you?"

"Yes, I did."

"Then, has the defendant always been like this, or would you say that she often makes such wilfully obstinate decisions?"

"Well, she is often like that!"

Director Sheng didn’t hide anything, "I think she’s relying on her father’s reputation, so she looks down on our hospital’s doctors, and even on me!"

"I invited the defendant and some of the doctors out to dinner several times to thank them for their contributions to our hospital, but the defendant always refused, as if she felt we were not worthy to dine with her?"

"Oh, is that so?"

Qin Shaocong laughed and asked, "Then did the other doctors involved in the project accept the invitation?"

"Of course, apart from the defendant, the other doctors get along well with us!"

"The defendant really doesn’t fit in, but no wonder, who could blame her when she has such a famous father?"

Qin Shaocong likewise sneered with sarcasm.

This remark truly altered the jury’s perspective.

Relying on one’s father!

Especially in today’s world, if you have a powerful father and we don’t, we are naturally going to...

View you with hostility!

Out of the six jury members, over five developed hostility towards Jessica.

Clearly none of them had powerful fathers, and upon hearing that the defendant had such an impressive father, they all felt irked.

"Wow, he’s actually using this tactic!"

Zhang Wei had also realized that Qin Shaocong had done his homework.

And not only that, his ability to spout nonsense was also top-notch.

Ever since Jessica left her hometown to come to Dongfang Capital, she had completely severed ties with her father.

The two were almost unrelated, but in Qin Shaocong’s mouth, it transformed into Jessica still relying on her old man.

With an unbridgeable distance between them, could Jessica still rely on her father, or gain anything from it?

It was truly like burning papers at a grave to fool the spirits!

"Very well, thank you Director Sheng for your response. My questioning is over!"

Qin Shaocong saw his purpose was achieved and promptly concluded his questioning.

He had succeeded in portraying the defendant as a malicious doctor who would wilfully obstinate, even at the sacrifice of the patients’ health.

Though he was stopped by the judge, he knew that this stigma had already embedded itself deeply in the jurors’ minds.

Thanks also to Director Sheng’s statement, another layer was added to the defendant’s identity.

And that was being a second-generation heir!

Who do ordinary people despise the most? Naturally, those who are born at the finish line!

And the defendant is just such a person.

Not only is she beautiful, she also possesses an extraordinary family background, and even a highly profitable job.

Such a person, who seems to have everything, will naturally induce jealousy among ordinary folks.

And once they become jealous, they would invariably make judgments that are unfavorable to her.

This is why, at the beginning, Zhang Wei told Jessica to dress down, even to deliberately make herself look unattractive.

The jealousy of ordinary people must be taken into consideration.

And now, both parties were aware that many among the jury and even the audience envied Jessica, some even eager to ruin her.

The pressure once again shifted to the defense.

How would they break this situation?