The Verdict is a 1982 American legal drama film directed by Sidney Lumet and written by David Mamet, adapted from Barry Reed's 1980 novel of the same name. It stars Paul Newman, Charlotte Rampling, Jack Warden, James Mason, Milo O'Shea, and Lindsay Crouse. A down-on-his-luck alcoholic lawyer accepts a medical malpractice case to improve his own situation, but discovers along the way that he is doing the right thing.
The Verdict garnered critical acclaim and box office success. The film was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor in a Leading Role (Newman), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Mason), and Best Adapted Screenplay.
Plot
Once-promising attorney Frank Galvin is an alcoholic ambulance chaser. As a favor, former partner Mickey Morrissey sends him a medical malpractice case which is all but certain to be settled out-of-court for a significant amount. The case involves a young woman given general anesthesia during childbirth at a Catholic hospital, after which she choked on her vomit and was left comatose. The plaintiffs, her sister and brother-in-law, intend to use the settlement to pay for her care.
Galvin is deeply affected upon seeing the woman. A representative of the Catholic diocese offers a $210,000 settlement. Without his clients' knowledge, Galvin declines and states his intention to take the case to trial, stunning the opposing party and the judge assigned to the case. While preparing for trial, Galvin encounters a young woman, Laura Fischer, in a bar and becomes romantically involved with her.
Galvin experiences several setbacks. The hospital's attorney, Ed Concannon, has a large legal team that is masterful with the press. The comatose woman's brother-in-law angrily confronts Galvin after Concannon's team tells him of the settlement offer that Galvin rejected. Galvin's medical expert disappears before testifying, and a hastily-arranged substitute's credentials are challenged. Nobody who was in the operating room is willing to testify that negligence occurred.
In chambers during the trial, Judge Hoyle threatens Galvin with disbarment, but Galvin angrily dismisses him as a bagman for the local political machine and "defendant's judge" who is on the bench because he couldn't "hack it" as a lawyer. Hoyle denies Galvin's motion for a mistrial and threatens to have him arrested. Galvin storms out.
Kaitlin Costello, the nurse who admitted the woman to the hospital, is now a pre-school teacher in New York City. Galvin travels there to seek her help. As Laura hastily arranges to meet him, Morrissey discovers a check from Concannon in her handbag and realizes Concannon is paying her for inside information. Morrissey informs Galvin of Laura's betrayal, and Galvin confronts her in a bar. He strikes her, knocking her to the floor. Back in Boston, Morrissey suggests moving for a mistrial due to Concannon's ethics violation, but Galvin decides to continue.
In the courtroom, Costello testifies she wrote that the patient ate a full meal one hour before being admitted, which contradicts the patient record that states a nine-hour interval. On cross-examination, an incredulous Concannon asks how she can prove this. Costello reveals that her superiors threatened her with termination unless she changed the original record from "1" to "9," but before doing so, she made a photocopy, which she brought to court. Concannon objects that for legal purposes, the original is presumed to be correct, but Hoyle unexpectedly reserves judgment. Costello testifies that the anesthesiologist later confessed that he had failed to read her admitting notes and administered general anesthesia, which is incorrect for someone who ate only one hour prior. As a result, the patient vomited and choked. When the anesthesiologist realized his error, he threatened to end Costello's career if she did not change the "1" to a "9."
After Costello is dismissed, Concannon again objects on the grounds that the hospital's original admitting record has precedence. Hoyle agrees and declares Costello's testimony stricken from the record. Afterward, a diocese lawyer praises Concannon's performance to the bishop, who asks, "But do you believe her?" and is met with embarrassed silence.
Despite believing his case is hopeless, Galvin gives a brief but passionate closing argument. The jury finds in favor of the plaintiffs, and the foreman asks whether the jury can award more than what was asked for. Hoyle resignedly replies that they can. As Galvin is congratulated outside the courtroom, he catches a glimpse of Laura watching him from across the atrium.