Walter Cofield, was the doctor assigned by Eric Foreman to investigate the incident involving the injury of Robert Chase in the Season 8 episode Nobody's Fault. He was portrayed by actor Jeffrey Wright.
Cofield was the Chief of Neurology at New York Mercy Hospital, but when Foreman was a doctor in training, he was the head of the residency program at Johns Hopkins Medical School. Foreman hand-picked him hoping Cofield would give Gregory House the benefit of the doubt, which would most likely preserve Foreman's job as Dean of Medicine.
However, Cofield was appalled by House's methods, his treatment of his fellows, and House's whole attitude towards the investigation. After speaking to everyone involved, he came to the conclusion that House had to be suspended, which would result in House going back to prison and Foreman being fired. However, just before he ruled, Emily Koppelman came in to tell them that House had correctly diagnosed the patient who had injured Chase. Cofield reversed course and declared the accident was "Nobody's Fault". He was about to leave when House called him a coward for not going with his original decision.
Quotes[]
- Foreman: House is brilliant. I give him the benefit of the doubt most of the time because I've seen what he can do.
- Cofield: Getting House out of prison is the biggest decision you've made as Dean of Medicine, right? And if he's suspended as a result of this hearing, he violates his parole and he goes back. And that probably leaves you as former Dean of Medicine.
- Foreman: I suppose so.
- Cofield: You didn't choose me to oversee this because you thought I could be objective. You chose me because you thought I'd have your back and I'd think twice about making a decision that would get you fired. Eric, I'm sorry, but if your get-House-out-of-jail-free experiment blows up in your face, it's not my job to get you out of it.
- House: Coward.
- Cofield: Excuse me?
- House: You've got, like, 20 pages of notes there. You were expecting to bore us for at least half an hour. You got my parole form in here. You were gonna send me back to prison.
- Foreman: House, stop.
- House: Good things usually happen. Bad things sometimes happen. The fact that that would-be widow came in just in time to sob all over your soft, mushy heart and the fact that her husband's gonna live does not change whether or not I did the right thing.
- Cofield: What are you doing?
- House: Taking my Vic-amins.
- Cofield: Were you angry with Dr. House?
- Chase: It was a prank. It wasn't uncommon.
- Cofield: So I've heard. That doesn't mean you couldn't get angry. Might actually contribute to that reaction.
- Chase: May I ask why that matters? Are you trying to prove that I was distracted, that my judgment was compromised?
- Cofield: Who do you think was at fault for what happened to you, Dr. Chase?
- Chase: Again, why does it matter?
- Cofield: You're a smart doctor. You know what happened here better than anyone, and you've worked with Dr. House longer than anyone and I suspect that you've spent every minute since this has happened trying to answer that very question.
- Chase: I don't think it was anyone's fault. I was angry, but I wasn't distracted. And I think that, if there's any chance I'm gonna walk again, it's because Dr. House is a genius.
- Cofield: This will be our last round of questions. I've spoken with Dr. Chase. You know he regained movement.
- House: No.
- Cofield: Are you really this indifferent to the fact that Dr. Chase is hurt?
- House: We're going off the record because this is irrelevant or are you gonna hit me?
- Cofield: Why don't you go tell the guy you're sorry...
- House: I didn't do anything wrong.
- Cofield: It's not an admission of guilt. He's your friend and he's not well.
- House: He's a co-worker.
- Cofield: Co-worker whom you've known for almost ten years who nearly died and who's still scared he may not walk.
- House: Are you going to have me fired for bad manners?
- Cofield: Let the record show that we are officially convening a disciplinary hearing regarding the events of February 3, 2012 in patient room 209. Dr. House, this recording will be transcribed and published along with all supporting documentation and rulings. Do you have any questions before we get started?
- House: Yeah. Who the hell are you?
- Cofield: I'm Walter Cofield, Chief of Neurology, Mercy Hospital. I'll be deciding your fate today.
- House: My diagnostic test worked. It proved the patient had a steroid-induced psychosis.
- Cofield: And that's what you took away from this situation?
- House: The brain was not a symptom of an underlying disease.
- Cofield: Your colleague was stabbed. Are you telling me you didn't care?
- Cofield: You brazenly defied your boss. Now that happened either because Dr. House has established that that's okay in his world or his prank war distracted you or House makes medicine a game and you just wanted to beat him. Whatever the reason, it boils down to the fact that you may never walk again because House created an atmosphere that promotes recklessness.
- Cofield: Dr. House's process is dangerous, inappropriate, but he is effective. I've decided that I would be doing this hospital a disservice if I did anything to change that process. Congratulations, Dr. House. This unfortunate stabbing incident is officially nobody's fault.
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