A doctor at the centre of an inquiry into the death of an American waitress had to get a lawyer yesterday before he continued with his testimony.

Coroner William Francis ordered an adjournment after the surgeon in charge of Mia Warren's hospital case, Dr. Steven Trott, decided he needed to consult with and be represented by an attorney.

And at one point Dr. Trott refused to answer questions from Ms Warren's family's lawyer Michael Smith due to the fact that, according to Mr. Francis, they were "more appropriate to a trial looking into negligence than an inquest''.

In another development, Dr. Trott -- orthopaedic surgeon -- contradicted earlier testimony from a psychiatrist.

Dr. Trott, the only witness to give testimony yesterday, first took the stand without legal representation.

After being questioned for a while by Mr. Smith, however, he requested that he be able to seek legal advice before proceeding.

Despite Mr. Smith's objections that Dr. Trott "should have been prepared when he walked in'', Mr. Francis adjourned for a few hours.

The doctor returned for the afternoon session represented by lawyer David Kessaram.

The hearing, now in its fourth day, has been looking into the circumstances surrounding the death of the 21-year-old Ms Warren at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital in June, 1997.

Ms Warren, who travelled to the Island from Memphis, Tennessee, for her aunt's wedding, visited the hospital on May 28 complaining of back pain.

After being X-rayed and examined she went home only to be admitted again two days later.

She had been involved in a car accident two years earlier and, during subsequent surgery, had two metal supports, called Harrington Rods, fitted into her back to support her spine.

Ms Warren's condition gradually deteriorated after being admitted and she died in the early hours of June 5.

An autopsy revealed that death was caused by staphylococcal meningitis, a bacterial infection of the outer portion of the brain which had been caused by the rupture of an abscess that had formed around one of the rods.

Dr. Trott explained that his working diagnosis during Ms Warren's first few days at the hospital had been "mechanical back pain''.

But prompted by questions from Mr. Smith, Dr. Trott admitted that such pain could have been caused by infection.

Asked why he did not consider this to be a possible cause at the time, Dr.

Trott said: "When Ms Warren arrived she didn't display any of the signs such as fever, rash or neck stiffness. This was one of the key features that turned me away from thinking there may be a serious infection.'' He also stated that Ms Warren had said she would rather go home to the US and be examined there instead.

Mr. Smith, however, disputed this, bringing up the fact that testimonies from family members had not included this fact.

"Are you saying that the testimonies of other witnesses are incorrect?'' he asked.

Objections from Bermuda Hospitals Board attorney Jai Pachai stopped Dr. Trott from having to answer.

"How can Dr. Trott comment on what other witnesses said?'' Mr. Pachai asked.

Mr. Francis agreed, saying: "That's right, Mr. Smith. We have to remember that the doctor is not on trial here.'' Dr. Trott continued with his account of events.

"I prescribed drugs for her treatment on my working diagnosis and she was hooked up to a P.C.A. (Patient Controlled Analgaesic),'' he said.

He described how Ms Warren's condition seemed to progressively improve until the afternoon of June 2, when she "became disoriented and began to engage in inappropriate behaviour''.

The four-man, four-woman jury heard how Dr. Trott had mistakenly diagnosed this behaviour to be caused by a "drug induced psychosis''.

Later examinations by St. Brendan's psychiatrist Dr. Gareth Smith and internal medicine specialist Dr. Wilbert Warner -- who was consulted some four days after Ms Warren was admitted and then ordered CT scans and blood tests which revealed she was suffering from meningitis -- revealed that the "inappropriate behaviour'' was not caused by narcotics, but by the pain from the swelling of Ms Warren's brain due to bacterial infection.

"At the time though,'' Dr. Trott explained, "the patient was receiving a lot of medication. It was not out of the question that her state could have been altered by the narcotics.'' The orthopaedic surgeon's version of events also came into conflict with Dr.

Smith's testimony, in regards to the description of the Posey Jacket that was being used to restrain Ms Warren.

While Dr. Smith had explained on Tuesday that he had seen the patient "spread-eagled about'' in a kind of "junior straitjacket'', Dr. Trott described the Posey Jacket to be a "cotton vest that holds the patient face down on the bed, but leaves the arms free''.