MDA

Ella Davis' long time friend Olga Stiles, an obstetrician, is facing charges in the Supreme Court for contributing to the massive brain injuries of a young woman, Kim Cusack, following complications with her Caesarean delivery. Opposing counsel Richard Savage employs a dramatic, emotive tactic to win the hearts of the jury, forcing Ella and Happy to call an adjournment to rethink their options. Meantime, Caitlin cuts her teeth on a case of surgery politics involving two doctors at each other's throats. The resolution for this one will need some truly lateral thinking. Jamie enlists Caitlin's help in some hands-on sleuth work to discover the truth about a woman's claim of sexual misconduct. As they prepare to enter final negotiations on the Cusack case, Richard confronts Ella with information that forces her to draw on all her resources to balance her own emotions with the tragedy suffered by a young couple.

Ella must get to the bottom of a tragic case in which an elderly man dies inexplicably, while the young doctor on duty insists he can't be held responsible for the death. Caitlin gets her day in court, when she refuses to be intimidated by a violent ex-crim, who wants to be compensated because his doctor didn't keep his tonsils for him after they were removed. A psychiatrist performs surgery on a young ballerina with disastrous consequences and turns to MDA for help. Happy must convince the president of MDA to extend indemnity to the doctor. Nick, Ella's partner, is offered a lucrative research position in Philadelphia and tries to use it to lure Ella back to him. Hoping to heal some of the damage done by his affair, Nick promises Ella greater commitment to their relationship.

When a GP is caught having sex with a beautiful blonde patient in his surgery, Ella must make a decision about whether MDA should fight to save his practice. He claims it was a one-off but his devastated wife is sure he's been having an affair. As Ella battles to keep her own emotions out of the case, Nick surprises her with his decision about the job offer in Philadelphia in an emotional showdown at the MDA office. Meanwhile Happy and Jamie attempt to out-manoeuvre Richard in the case of a vain but popular gym complex owner whose cosmetic surgery resulted in some unusual complications. And Caitlin unravels the mystery of a woman who claims her doctor gave her unwanted tattoos.

The MDA team must deal with the painful aftermath of the attempted murder of Ella, Jamie and Tony. Despite eight hours in the operating theatre, Tony dies and the effect on the survivors is far-reaching and profound. While Jamie is eerily withdrawn, Ella comes to accept the loss. Caitlin waits for the injured Ella's return to work and then, goaded by Richard, announces her new job at Richard's firm. Happy will never forgive her and it is another blow for the fragile Ella. A locum legal case manager, Amanda McKay, joins MDA while Ella and Jamie recover. She works with Caitlin and Happy in defence of an IVF doctor accused of breach of contract. An IVF baby has died soon after birth, due to an undiagnosed genetic condition. MDA successfully defends the doctor, but the case could have far reaching consequences for IVF doctors and their patients. Meanwhile, Ella and Amanda go into mediation against Gretel Celeste, a medium who claims to have lost her psychic powers as a result of an appende

Caitlin tackles her first brief at Kato & Pittman: a potential million-dollar claim from an apparently permanently injured plaintiff against a doctor who admits negligence. But Caitlin is fooled: the man is faking his injuries. Happy is maliciously delighted to prove Caitlin, his former protégée, wrong. Richard is calm, but Caitlin is kicking herself. At MDA, Jamie clumps about on crutches and Happy interviews replacement case managers for Caitlin's position at MDA. Amanda is miffed that she must apply for the job she had thought she was doing so well. At the same time, Amanda and Ella are at odds as Ella relentlessly uncovers the conspiracy behind a doctor who neglected to tell his patient that she had contracted gonorrhoea from her husband. On the very day of her job interview, Amanda's letter of the law approach runs head-on into Ella's more complex moral position on medical indemnity. Amanda thinks she's blown it, but her nerve and forthright honesty get her the job.

Ella and Happy face a hard fight defending a doctor who trusted a pathology report and thus missed a cancer in a nine-year-old boy. The biopsy slides and the pathologist are missing. Richard becomes emotionally involved with the terminally ill boy, and is shaken to discover that the parents absolutely refuse to tell their son he's dying. With the trial fast tracked, Ella enlists unpredictable surgeon Mr Simon Lloyd as an expert witness. His care and passion for the case and the mediation provide unexpected results and a violent response from Richard, when Simon breaks the rules and confronts the grieving parents. When the elusive pathologist shows up, she confesses she got it wrong and Ella is devastated. At Kato & Pittman, Caitlin is reminded of her junior status when Richard has her drawing up wills. But Caitlin discovers her client's husband could well have a very large med-neg claim against their GP, who failed to diagnose kidney failure. It should be an easy and big win for Caitli

A charismatic, brilliant geneticist, Professor Robyn Masterson approaches MDA to get indemnity for a daring medical experiment. Happy begins to question his work at MDA.

Julia Delvecchio is concerned that the break-in at the lab has compromised the team's work, but Robyn is determined it will not force any delay in the trial on Belinda.

Convinced that there is much more to Julia's story than she let on, Amanda again raises her doubts over Professor Robyn Masterson.