Trying to ID an episode of a medical drama involving a crush injury

December 20, 2017 9:43 AM

I was just reading about crush injuries and reperfusion syndrome, and it reminded me of an episode of a TV medical drama where a woman is trapped between ... something (I feel like it involved a train or car?), develops what I believe is crush syndrome, and ultimately dies when she is released.

ER seems the most likely contender, but I've scrolled through a bunch of brief episode descriptions and nothing stood out to me (I only watched the first few seasons). It may also have been Chicago Hope? It was definitely around that era (mid-to late 90s). I seem to recall that there was a doctor or paramedic helping her at the scene, and they knew she was going to die when she was no longer contained.

This is driving me nuts. Please help!

posted by Defying Gravity to Media & Arts (14 answers total)

It's an episode of House: "Help Me."
posted by culfinglin at 9:47 AM on December 20, 2017 [5 favorites]

Homicide life on the streets did an early episode based on this premise, but the vic was male. They tried unsuccessfully to find his his girlfriend so she could say goodbye. The episode was called Subway.
posted by RichardHenryYarbo at 9:48 AM on December 20, 2017 [7 favorites]

It was a man but it was 1997 and the rest of the details are close. Was it the "Subway" episode of Homicide: Life on the Street?
posted by Clinging to the Wreckage at 9:48 AM on December 20, 2017 [2 favorites]

If it's not one of those, could it be the death of the wife in the movie "Signs" you're thinking of?
posted by zizzle at 9:54 AM on December 20, 2017

Response by poster: It's none of those, unfortunately (I've seen the House ep; never watched Homicide: Life on the Street).
posted by Defying Gravity at 9:55 AM on December 20, 2017

Response by poster: I've not seen Signs, either, alas.
posted by Defying Gravity at 9:55 AM on December 20, 2017

Longshot but sounds a bit like the very memorable Grey's Anatomy episode Into You Like A Train, in which two strangers in a train crash are impaled on the same metal pole (image of the scene). The pole is keeping their organs in position so they are conscious but once it's removed, one of them dies.
posted by acidic at 10:03 AM on December 20, 2017 [4 favorites]

There was an episode of Grey's Anatomy where there was a train crash, and two characters, a male and female, were both impaled by the same pole. In the end, he lived, but removing the pole made everything worse for her, and she died.

Into You Like a Train
posted by jenny76 at 10:04 AM on December 20, 2017

Response by poster: Oh, man, good guesses, all of you, but it's not the Grey's Anatomy ep, either.
posted by Defying Gravity at 10:24 AM on December 20, 2017

This was just the plot of a recent Murdoch Mysteries episode. Maybe it was evoking something previous?
posted by jessamyn at 10:50 AM on December 20, 2017

Best answer: This happened in an episode of a late 90s/early 2000s Australian drama series...I think All Saints but it could have been Police Rescue.
posted by Naanwhal at 11:22 AM on December 20, 2017 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Naanwhal, I think you may be on to something! I was just wondering if it was perhaps an Aussie show! I watched a lot more All Saints than I did Police Rescue, so that's probably it. I'm about to grab some sleep, but I feel much more confident of a search result now! Thank you! (And sorry, non-Australian Mefites!)
posted by Defying Gravity at 11:44 AM on December 20, 2017

Response by poster: Okay, for anyone interested, it's All Saints, Season 5, Episode 1 "Opening Night" ("Scott bonds with a woman caught in between two trains"). Yay, now my brain can relax! Thanks again, everyone.
posted by Defying Gravity at 11:55 AM on December 20, 2017 [3 favorites]

It looks like you've found your answer, but there's also a scene like this in the 2002 movie Signs.
posted by Johnny Assay at 9:11 PM on December 21, 2017