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After a bench trial, Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Ronald B. Rubin awarded $404,592 to a dental patient who alleged that she had been a victim of unnecessary treatment -- the placement of twenty crowns on mostly on virgin teeth. The Court found also that defendant had not obtained informed consent. The award included the costs of root canal therapy resulting from negligent over-preparation of the crowned teeth and future expenses including crown replacement and implant therapy. The non-economic award included past and future pain and suffering.
Plaintiff Haidi Sun presented to defendant Anita Pik Lui Ho, DDS for general dental care. To correct a mild orthodontic rotation of her two front teeth, defendant recommended crowns on six upper front teeth. Defendant failed to offer options for less invasive treatment, including orthodontic treatment. Plaintiff contended that the crowns, once placed were not esthetic and created a malocclusion. Defendant then performed crown therapy on additional teeth. Following the placement of twenty crowns by defendant, plaintiff suffered a traumatic occlusion and could not chew or fully close her mouth. The twenty crowns were misshapen, did not have adequate margins when seated and did not match each other or her natural teeth in color or shape. All of the crowns were then replaced by a specialist in restorative dentistry. Plaintiff underwent multiple root canal treatments on most of the teeth crowned and treating doctors and experts for plaintiff opined that she would have potential loss of many of her natural teeth, necessitating future implants.
Defendant contended unsuccessfully that plaintiff rejected orthodontic therapy and was so happy with the initial six upper crowns that she requested additional upper and lower teeth be crowned to match. Defense experts testified that the standard of care was met and that the proposed future treatment was over-priced. In its decision, the Court rejected defense expert opinion as not well founded or credible.
Read more: Verdict for Dental Injury from Incompetent Crown Preparations
Please read the Opinion written by the Honorable Judge Ronald Rubin, who observed that "this was one of the most well-tried cases that I have seen as a Circuit Court judge ... counsel are to be commended for the ... preparation, and their courtroom skills and demeanor were of the highest caliber of the profession."
The team at Bartoli Cain Law successfully mediated with our client a case in which he suffered a massive infection and breakdown of bone in the tempero-mandibular (jaw) joint as a result of an oral surgeon's failure to remove a temporary Silastic implant the oral surgeon had placed. Through mediation we were able to resolve this client's case for $425,000.
In a case involving a failure to locate and remove a diagnosed cancerous lesion from a patient's colon, we brought a lawsuit against both the gastroenterologist who failed to properly describe the location of the lesion and the surgeon who failed to locate and remove it. The case went to trial in February 2012 and, after a five-day trial, the jury returned a verdict for our client of over $400,000.