The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1901-05-03
DR.. JORDAN SAW IT MOST
Both Physicians Tell Their Story to
the Jury.
AND EACH DIscLAIMs THE RESPONSIBILITY
Or, Hines Says He Would Have Used Spints in
Dressing Such an Arm. Or. Jordan's
Character as Man and
Physician,
Physician.

In the Superior Court yesterday the
trial of the damage suit of Robert Col
Inns VS.. DR.. A. o. Jones and DR.. Thos. NJ
Jordan, charging them with malpractice,
was continued.
Mrs. Collins completed her evidence,
begun on Wednesday afternoon. She
said DR.. Jones came the first two days
the child was hurt, then he did not come
any more until on the fourteenth day.
when he came and took off the bandages.
He told her then, she said, that the hand
looked bad, but would be all right in a
few days.
DR.. Jordan, she declared went every
day till the bandage was taken off, then
he came every day or two for some time. :"
She denied that he ever gave her a pre-
scription beyond the verbal instruction to
battle the arm in witch hazel. She add
ed; When DR.. Jordan came and found
DR.. Jones had taken off the bandages, he
said they were taken off too soon"
Again the witness said, touching the
condition of the arm: CDR. Jordan said
the best thing to do was to break it over
and reset it again, but l wouldn't let
him.
On cross examination, Mrs. Collins
said Dr. Jones told her he'd come and
take the arm down at the proper time.
He was never called in after the first
time; he came afterwards of his own ac
cord The witness did not remember
which doctor was telephoned for first
but she knew DR.. Jones arrived first and
then went off to get DR.. Jordan before do
ing anything.
Miss Mary Conn, who was a nurse in
the hospital here at Peace Institute dur
ing the war, was the next witness. She
went to the Collins house the day of the
accident; was there when DR.. Jones ar
rived and went for DR.. Jordan. She saw
them dress the arm and didn't think it
was properly dressed.
CDR. Jones'" she said, applied the
chloroform, Dr. Jordan set the joint and
Dr. Jones put on the bandage."
She added that cotton was put around
only the joints and that DR.. Jones began
wrapping the bandage above the elbow
and went down to the end of the fingers
Mrs. Collins made the same statement
as to the amount of cotton used; she
did not see the physicians dress the arm.
Both DR. Jordan and DR.. Jones, how
ever. testified that the entire arm and
hand, as far as the bandages extended,
we're wrapped in cotton. DR.. Jones said
he began wrapping at the hand and
wrapped upward.
DIR Jordan stated emphaticallly that he
considered the case DR.. Jones; Jones was
there when he arrived and managed the
case The witness added:
when we were leaving, 1 said to Mr..
Collins in Dr. Jones presence, i suppose
YOU sent for Dr. Jones first. He said,
Yes l replied, That is all right I
simply want to know whose patient he
is With that we left.
"That afternoon Mr.. Collins telephoned
that the child was suffering and he
couldn't find DR.. Jones. l went, and af-
ter that l didn't see the boy for two or
three days. Then / was visiting some
typhoid cases in the neighborhood and
/ stopped to inquire about the boy. Mrs.
Collins inquired about the bandage. l
looked at it and told her / thought it
was all right, and / saw no necessity for
moving it, besides, that if l did, / would
not do so without first consulting DR..
Jones. The next time ] saw the boy
was four days later, when | was called in
to see Mr.. Collins. The bandage on the
chiIds hand was at that time loosened
by having been cut, and a new sling
fixed for it, made of one narrow piece
of cloth. Mrs. Collins told me she had
made these changes to relieve the suf-
fering of the child"
When DR.. Jones went on the stand
at the afternoon session of the court he
was equally positive that the case was
DR.. Jordan's. He declared that he had
brown up the case Immediately after he
helped set the arm, as he was going out
of town for several days. And the day he
took eff the bandage he "just happened
in" He added:
1T was some twelve or thirteen days
after the accidental. / was near the Col
Inns house and / dropped in to see how
the child was getting along. Mrs Col
Inns showed me the arm and asked me
to remove the bandage, saying she had
often requested Dr. Jordan to take 1T OIL
and he had declined to do SO. took II
off and found a bad sore. on the arm
With this my connection with the case
ceased"
A number of witnesses were put on
by DR.. Jordan to prove his character as
a man and physician and DR.. Jones put on
one or two witnesses to prove that Col
IIHS udu Sctlu lie uIu uUl uOlu MIN tJOuSoj
responsible for the child's condition.
There was also some corroborat tive
testimony introduced by DR.. Jordan
showing that DR.. Jones was the first
sent for when the child was hurt
Dr. p. E. Hines testified as an expert.
He said that the method of setting the
dslocated joint as described by Dr. Jor-
dan was correct, but that he always used
splinters in. such cases for the reason
that they kept the arm in place and
would nave prevented the injury that had
beGA sustained. The arm, he said, was in
very bad condition. He said it was the
cuStom when two doctors were sent for
and neither of them had ever been called
there before. that the first to arrive was
considered the physician in charge.
DR.. Hines gave DR.. Jordan a very higt
character, both as a man and a physi-
elan, as did also DR.. M. w. Parks ant
Rev. u. O. Guthrie
The evidence in the case will be con.