When Torres presented his investigative findings, the hearing stopped feeling like a single case and became what it truly was: an indictment of a pattern. He summarized the eighteen cases over five years. He described demographic skew. He cited charting deficiencies, unsupported assumptions, and repeated instances in which objective findings were minimized or ignored. He noted the recurrent use of language such as drug-seeking, exaggerating, and anxious in cases where later diagnoses established real pathology. He also highlighted that Vance’s notes often lacked the depth expected when a physician chooses not to pursue workup for potentially serious presentations. Thin documentation is often the signature of a decision made too early.
Then Leonard Vance took the stand.