Karl Grant was diagnosed at his local hospital with endocarditis, a potentially life-threatening condition in which a heart valve is infected with bacteria. Mr. Grant was then transferred to a more "sophisticated" hospital for surgery. Upon his arrival, physicians at the new hospital spent days repeating the same expensive tests that had been performed previously, only to reach the same conclusion.
The duplication in testing made the hospital a lot of money but cost Mr. Grant dearly. Due to the unnecessary delay, a piece of the infection (called a "bacterial embolus") broke off and traveled to his brain, causing a stroke.
Ultimately, the hospital agreed to a settlement rather than face Greene & Eisen's "profits over people" theme at trial.
