Season synopsis
Contains spoilers for this season and earlier seasons.
County General adjusts to a reshaped staff as Croatian doctor Luka Kovač joins the emergency department, Abby Lockhart moves from nurse to medical student, and Jing-Mei Chen returns as a doctor. Elizabeth Corday accepts Robert Romano’s offer to become associate chief of surgery, while Mark Greene and Kerry Weaver clash over how the ER should be run. Greene’s relationship with Corday continues while he cares for his father, who dies during the season. Carol Hathaway, raising twins Tess and Kate alone, ultimately leaves Chicago to reunite with Doug Ross in Seattle; Jeanie Boulet also departs to care for her son.
Medical student Lucy Knight and John Carter are stabbed by patient Paul Sobriki, whom they had treated during a psychotic break. The staff find them during a shift, and the surgeons race to save both. Carter survives serious injuries, but Lucy suffers a fatal blood clot after surgery and dies. Romano, who had come to care for Lucy, is left to close her chest after Corday stops resuscitation. Carter’s physical recovery is complicated by lasting kidney damage, pain and guilt over Lucy’s death.
Carter begins taking fentanyl at work and makes clinical mistakes while hiding his dependence. Abby discovers him injecting leftover medication, prompting Greene, Weaver, Chen and Benton to confront him in an intervention. Carter resists at first, then accepts that he needs treatment. Benton accompanies him to an inpatient rehabilitation program in Atlanta as the season ends. The crisis changes Carter’s relationships with his colleagues and sets up the difficult return that follows; the staff are left to cover the work and personal strain caused by the attack and his absence.