Dental Patient gets $15million payout
A 61-year-old woman has been awarded $15 million by a jury because her surgeon didn’t diagnose precancerous lesions in her mouth which then advanced.
Detnews.com reported that Herta Hopton was left significantly deformed because she needed more than 20 surgeries to remove and reconstruct her jaw.
Bone tissue from her legs and hip were used to rebuild her lower right jaw.
Robert Gittleman, Herta’s lawyer, who believed his client to be a casualty of stupidity, said that she was satisfied and vindicated that Dr Warren Vallerand, who was her surgeon, has been brought to justice for unconscionably harming her.
Herta will only see $600,000 of her compensation because Michigan state caps malpractice payouts and because an agreement was made between the attorneys.
Vallerand, an oral and maxillofacial doctor, was defended by his lawyer Craig Nemier. He suggested that Vallerand should not be blamed for the woman’s continued suffering.
Nemier told the court that his client had followed Herta’s progress every month as it improved, a process which isn’t regular with cancer.
Herta first began feeling pain in her jaw in 2005 and sought the advice of dentist, Peter Maly.
The dentist referred Herta to periodontist John Sivertson. Sivertson found a white lesion in the lower part of her right jaw but misdiagnosed it as an aspirin burn. However, Sivertson charted the lesion.
In May 2006 Herta visited Vallerand for an evaluation and a biopsy. However, Gittleman claims a biopsy wasn’t performed. She visited him three more times for the original lesion, and a new lesion, but was discharged without the biopsy.
The unfortunate woman returned to Vallerland again in November complaining of emergency pain. A biopsy was performed confirming “invasive skin cancer” that had reached the most severe level.
Herta then sued all the doctors. She settled with Maly in August for an undisclosed sum.
Sivertson was lucky enough to be absolved of blame, but in the same trial the jury convicted Vallerand.
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