Erika Berg v. Ronald Darden, D.D.S.
Published: Aug. 5, 2003 | Result Date: Jun. 19, 2003 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: KC036930 Verdict – $523,900
Judge
Court
L.A. Superior Pomona
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Defendant
Burdick M. Ray
(Ray & Gourde LLP)
Experts
Plaintiff
Barry D. Pressman M.D.
(medical)
Noel Lustig
(medical)
Edward L. Bennett M.A.
(technical)
Edward Yang
(medical)
Marianne Inouye MBA
(technical)
Mayer W. Schames
(medical)
Defendant
Phillip I. Kress
(medical)
Steven B. Graff-Radford
(medical)
Takeo Yamamoto
(medical)
Facts
The plaintiff, a 17-year-old high school student, visited the defendant's dental office for a regular six month cleaning. While at the dentist's for this purpose, the defendant dentist, Dr. Ronald Darden, performed a TMJ examination. During the manipulation performed by the defendant, the plaintiff experienced a sharp, lancinating pain over the left jaw joint, greater than she had ever experienced. This stopped the procedure. Notwithstanding that the plaintiff said "Stop, this just hurts too much" and that the plaintiff had pushed the dentist's hands away, neither the dentist nor his assistant said or did anything to ascertain what had happened and they merely walked away. The plaintiff then left the office and shortly after discovered swelling over the left side of her face and difficulty chewing and opening her mouth. Even before leaving the defendant's office, the plaintiff could not open her jaw fully, or open or close it without pain. The defendant neither evaluated this or explained it to the plaintiff. The defendant saw the plaintiff two days later in his office and noted the swelling, limitation of jaw movement, and pain while chewing and recognized that there was the possibility of a derangement of the disc in the left TMJ. The plaintiff did not see any TMJ specialist for two months and did not see an oral surgeon until 13 days after the trauma because the defendant failed to advise the plaintiff's family that such a referral was necessary. The plaintiff has endured pain refractory to physical therapy, splints, and anti-inflammatory and analgesic medication. An MRI performed at Kaiser a month after the injury confirmed that the left TMJ was irreducibly displaced. The defendant did not refer the plaintiff to a TMJ specialist until about two months after the injury. The specialist was able to determine that the left TMJ was dislocated.
Result
The jury voted 12-0 on all polled issues. They found Dr. Darden negligent in his care and treatment of the plaintiff, and awarded her $50,000 for past pain and suffering, $50,000 present value in future pain and suffering, $7,500 in past dental bills, $112,000 in future dental bills, presently valued, and $304,000 in future lost earning capacity, presently valued.
Other Information
The defendant's motion for new trial is pending.
Poll
12-0
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