Legal Constultations, 1925-1988

Adriani served as a consultant and expert witness on hundreds of legal cases concerning medical matters around the South and the nation, mostly during the later years of his career (1970s and 1980s). The cases vary greatly in subject matter and in importance: in one instance, the Louisiana State Racing Commission consulted Adriani on an allegedly drugged race-horse. In many other cases, however, allegations were made of malpractice on the part of surgeons, anesthesiologists and nurse anesthetists. Often the plaintiffs charged that certain anesthetic drugs themselves were dangerous, suing their manufacturers. In quite a few of the cases featured in these files, Adriani rendered his opinions in the plaintiffs' favor and against the doctors and/or drug companies involved when he believed that incompetence was evident.

Adriani's legal files would be of interest to students of the history of anesthesia. Most of the cases in which he testified stemmed from sudden operating-table deaths or permanent brain damage sustained by otherwise healthy people allegedly as a result of flaws in the manufacture and/or the administration of certain anesthetics. In the course of testifying in these cases, Adriani asserted that certain drugs (Innovar and Xylocaine being the prime examples) were dangerous and should be taken off the market. The series provides extensive documentation of Adriani's opinions on specific drugs, on medical techniques and on the actions of other doctors. Major correspondents include St. Clair Adams, Henry Alsobrook, Bernard Bagert, F. Lee Bailey, J.B. Blumenstiel, Alva C. Caine, Roy Cheatwood, Allen Eaton, Vance Ellefson, Rosalind Herschthal, H. Martin Hunley, Ralph Kaskell, John Landis, John Lansdale, Lawrence McNamara, George Papale, James Rinaman, Michael Scott, Mort Segall, Joseph W. Thomas, John Wellman and Russell Zaunbrecher.