On Ju De's request, He & Shang Law Firm organized a negotiation with the patients. All the patients had agreed to meet and negotiate outside of court. On the day of the meeting, Ju De met with Lawyer Lang and Zhangmi at the civic building. Lawyer Gong was in charge of the case against Chenchen Hospital, but Lawyer Lang was assigned to handle the mediation with the patients.
Lawyer Lang handled the introduction and most of the talking. Ju De leaned back on the task chair in a relaxed manner, but he was carefully inspecting the first plaintiff and his lawyer. The plaintiff was an average middle-aged man, who had experienced early arthritis and lower back pain. His physician at Chenchen recommended the clinical trial to ease his pain in place of using over-the-counter pain medicine.
As for the lawyer, Chuang, he had a sturdy posture and was well dressed. The man worked in Chenchen, but was a rather well-known and respectable lawyer in the area who regularly handled large class-action lawsuits representing the patients. It was immediately obvious that the lawyers representing the patient were beyond what the patient could afford. Someone else was footing the bill for the patient and likely for the other patients.
“I believe you have reviewed the consent form and proper protocol from my client,” Lawyer Lang said to the other lawyer. She flipped through the file of paperwork spread out on the conference room table. “There are reasonable warnings and risks listed in the paperwork. If the physicians fail to review the information, negligence falls on the hospital and staff.”
“Yes, my client understood the side effects, but the problem is the lack of positive benefits,” said Lawyer Chuang. “He is led to believe that the reduced pain outweighs the side effects. However, he didn’t expect to suffer a heart attack.”
“For that, Mr. Ning personally would like to apologize on behalf of his company for the misrepresentation of their drug,” Lawyer Lang explained. “Drugs do not work on everyone, and it is the reason why clinical trials exist. But we would like to ask the patient, why did they decide to only sue the pharmaceutical company and not the hospital?”
“My patient strongly believed the hospital had performed everything to the best of their ability. The problem lies in the drug itself.”
“Then, are you aware we are suing Chenchen for civil conspiracy and breaking protocol?” asked Lawyer Lang. “As it involves the reputation of the hospital, we are not allowed to publicly announce the lawsuit. However, as the party directly involved, we want to inform you directly.”
“Ah, I see,” Lawyer Chuang nodded his head, but it was likely he already knew about the lawsuit against Chenchen.
The patient looked to Lawyer Chuang and asked him if the scenario changed anything. Lawyer Chuang reassured his client that nothing would change.
“If the judge finds Shennong to be the innocent party, your lawsuit will be nullified,” Lawyer Lang interjected. “I suggest you also sue the hospital.”
“Lawyer Lang seems confident that Shennong will win the case,” Lawyer Chuang commented. “However, that is a bold accusation that should be backed up by evidence.”
Lawyer Lang smiled and pushed the disclosure documents with a little note on top toward Lawyer Chuang and the patient. “Do you want to wait for our first trial against Chenchen? By then, I hope you don’t regret your decision. In the note is the amount we are willing to pay. Mr. Ning admits that your patient has suffered indirectly because of other parties' efforts to sabotage Shennong, and would like to compensate the patient. We hope you review the note carefully.”
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Lawyer Chuang raised his eyebrow. He didn’t expect Shennong to preempt and propose the compensation amount first. The patient looked at the note, 1.4 million yuan, the exact amount needed to clear his debt.
Before the meeting, Lawyer Chuang had said it was possible to squeeze out 20 million from the pharmaceutical company. However, a trial was needed before a judge and the process may be long. The patient compared the guaranteed $1.4 million in front of him and the potential $20 million windfall.
“I hope you understand that it is 1.4 million plus any additional amount you may gain from filing a suit against Chenchen Hospital,” Lawyer Lang advised. “There’s really no need to think it through too hard. You can sue them the same amount.”
“I accept,” the patient quickly agreed without consulting the lawyer.
“Mister!” Lawyer Chuang sharply turned to the patient. “We haven’t reviewed their conditions.”
“Here are the conditions, you need to have two independent testing laboratories examine your blood sample and the remaining bottle of your prescription,” said Ju De bringing out a document for the patient and Lawyer Chuang.
“Is that all?” The patient asked.
“The second condition is a full public disclosure allowing us to use the results in our lawsuit against Chenchen,” said Lawyer Lang. “The last condition is that upon our final lawsuit against Chenchen, you will assist our company in the advertisement of our product.”
The patient thought the conditions were agreeable, but Lawyer Chuang wanted time to review the documents.
“You have until the end of the day to sign,” said Lawyer Lang. “The deal will be off the table and the patient will receive nothing.”
After Ju De dealt with the patients, Li Yun made brief contact with the patients as they were leaving. They all had residues of a substance in their bodies that wasn’t Yunli. It was likely another clinical trial drug that was pulled after a noticeably increased risk of cardiovascular events. Chenchen had likely kept some of the old bottles and decided to switch the product out. There should be records of the medicine if it was missing or properly disposed of.
*****
Dr. Xuan was in his office. He had refused to see any visitors since the hospital had received a formal notice of the lawsuit from Shennong. Although the hospital director had expected it, Dr. Xuan wasn’t particularly settled in his mind. He out of everyone knew what had been done. He had taken the bribe reluctantly, along with the director and chief administrator. It was short-sighted of them, but the director was confident that the lawyer would be able to fend off the Shennong’s lawyers. As he was lost in thought, he heard someone clearing their throat across from his desk.
“Uh! You! How did you get in?” Dr. Xuan jumped nervously away from his desk.
Li Yun turned his head curiously at Dr. Xuan. One would think Li Yun was some sort of serial killer by the way Dr. Xuan was reacting.
“Relax Dr. Xuan, I’m here for a simple discussion,” Li Yun motioned his hand to request Dr. Xuan to sit. "You are, after all, the person I had placed in charge of the clinical trial."
Dr. Xuan searched his pocket for his cellphone, but the inner lining felt flat. He looked up and then realized that Li Yun was playing around his cellphone. The small rectangular phone was somehow balancing on the corner and spun around like a dice at the flick of Li Yun's fingers. Dr. Xuan had meant Li Yun before. Back then, the young doctor was warm and amicable. But the aura in front of him was threatening, as though it could swallow him up at any moment. Dread crept over Dr. Xuan's face as he fell back onto his chair and accepted his fate.
“Dr. Xuan, I am sure you understand why I am here,” Li Yun continued. “I would like you to know that it is extremely easy for me to acquire evidence about your son’s dealings, as well as your director and hospital administrator’s dealings.”
Unable to figure out how Li Yun had entered, Dr. Xuan felt sweat diffusing from his skin.
“We can drag this out in court, or we can settle this quietly,” Li Yun spoke as he dropped a folder on Dr. Xuan's lap. “I know you don’t have the authority, but as long as you agree to be the witness, I’ll allow leniency. I am sure you are afraid of being fired, but I can assure you, the other option isn’t any better.”
“What are you planning?” Dr. Xuan asked.
Li Yun returned an ominous smile before returning the cell phone back to Dr. Xuan and walking out.