Doctor on Trial [Hardcover]

Henry Denker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1992

A young doctor and lawyer struggle together to save their reputations in a hysterical malpractice case initiated by a powerful tycoon whose daughter died in a chaotic emergency room. 20,000 first printing. $15,000 ad/promo.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With a premise that seems inspired by recent headlines, this uneven and awkwardly paced novel follows a harried young doctor in a major New York City hospital who is accused of malpractice. Kate Forrester, the resident in charge of an understaffed emergency room one Saturday night, is taxed with an overwhelming caseload when 19-year-old Claudia Stuyvesant, complaining of vague abdominal pains, is brought in by her overbearing mother. Professional and cool-headed, Kate takes Claudia's history, examines her and orders diagnostic tests, all of which prove negative. Hours later, Claudia dies. The girl's outraged father, a real estate tycoon with vast political clout, sues the hospital and vows to have Kate's license revoked. Kate's attorney digs tirelessly into Claudia's background for clues that she and her mother may have withheld vital information from Kate, and he searches desperately for doctors willing to testify to Kate's competence. Denker ( Payment in Full ) offers stock characters--the image-conscious hospital administrator; doctors protecting their reputations; lawyers concerned chiefly with billable hours--but his observation of the medical and legal professions turns up timely and valid criticisms. Reader's Digest Condensed Books selection.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

With such legal/medical suspense novels as Payment in Full (Morrow, 1991), Denker has attracted a following in public libraries. Although this one isn't his best, adult and YA readers will sympathize with his protagonist, dedicated Manhattan physician Kate Forrester, who loses a young patient under intense hospital emergency room pressure and later faces malpractice charges leveled by the woman's powerful father. The victim's mother, a retired maverick doctor, and other cleverly defined minor players compensate for the flatness of several major characters. The author's knowledge of the drug culture and its argot hasn't progressed beyond the 1960s, but most readers won't care as they devour this slick page-turner.
- Joyce Smothers, Monmouth Cty. Lib., Manalapan, N.J.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow & Co; 1st edition (August 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688113885
• ISBN-13: 978-0688113889
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.5 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,697,625 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Emergency Fairy Tale, June 29, 2002

By 

O. J Thienhaus (Las Vegas, Nevada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Doctor on Trial (Bookcassette(r) Edition) (Audio Cassette)

Dr. Forrester, an ER resident doctor, gets entangled in a legal nightmare involving a stereotypical fat cat in NYC politics. The technical side of the audiobook is excellent -- little repeats at the beginning of each side, clear identification of cassette and side etc. But the story is sadly out of sync with any reality. Stereotypes abound, the brave young idealistic life-saving doctor, rural background and all: But how in the world would a resident get sued with no attending physician involvement? Where in the world were the supervising docs in that ER set-up? How can a doctor be so smart in her field of study and be so dumb as to go on city TV to "defend her case" against lawyer's advice and without her hospital's permission? How would a lawyer and a young doctor be able to stand for hours in a downtown neighborhood observing a drug dealer close-up without being accosted? The lack of basic research by the author into the subject matter he writes about, the stenciled characters and the cliche-laden, dead prose style combined make this into about the worst example of pulp fiction imaginable. It is disheartening to see what the genre supports.

4.0 out of 5 stars Where is Hollywood on this?, December 15, 2005

By 

K. Speiser - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Doctor on Trial (Hardcover)

The Reader's Digest Condensed version of "Doctor on Trial" is smart, quick-paced and formulaic: a good read with sympathetic characters. I'm surprised to find no record of it as a movie or made for TV drama.