Chelsea General is home to some of the top surgeons in the world, thanks in large part to the hospital's notorious Monday morning morbidity and mortality – or "311" – conferences. In these legendary meetings, Chief of Staff Harding Hooten leads a harsh, closed-door review of the complications encountered and mistakes made during the course of patient care. As the series opens, Trauma Chief Jorge Villanueva treats what appears to be an attempted suicide by car only to discover that the crash victim suffered a life-threatening brain aneurysm. Renowned neurosurgeon Dr. Ty Wilson is shaken by the case of 11-year-old Quinn McDaniels, whose soccer injury reveals a much graver problem. Workaholic Dr. Sydney Napur solves a case that had the rest of the hospital staff stumped. Meanwhile, Dr. Sung Park performs high-tech deep brain stimulation on a patient with uncontrollable hand tremors.

In the season finale, Hooten and Buck find themselves facing off in court against attorney Mitch Tompkins after a grieving son refuses to comply with his mother's final wishes. Sydney's outrage over the health of a morbidly obese 16-year-old boy further strains her relationship with Lieberman. And a seemingly harmless patient puts one of Chelsea General's own in grave danger.