ST. LOUIS (Legal Newsline) – A multimillion-dollar verdict against a dentist who drilled into a woman’s tongue has been affirmed by a Missouri appeals court.
The Court of Appeals for the Eastern District on July 7 rejected Dr. Thomas O’Keeffe’s objection to having to pay $2.5 million in noneconomic damages to patient Christina Bojorquez, who didn’t feel the drill because her mouth was numbed for her crown procedure.
The drill was rotating at 220,000 revolutions per minute and featured a diamond burr bit. It created a laceration 1.5 centimeters long and one centimeter deep when O’Keeffee accidentally cut Bojorquez’s tongue.
Bojorquez was described as a social butterfly who loved to sing karaoke before the incident but has become introverted and depressed because of the slurring and stuttering the injury caused. She also avoids going out to eat with others so she doesn’t have to explain her condition.
“In sum, there was substantial evidence presented at trial demonstrating Plaintiff’s injuries and resulting voice disorder have caused her pain and suffering, impacted her lifestyle and caused her embarrassment and humiliation and Plaintiff will continue to suffer such noneconomic damages in the future,” Judge Robert Clayton wrote.
The jury assessed $500,000 for past noneconomic damages and $2 million for future. The defendant argued that was excessive, but the Court of Appeals found that the jury was in a good position to make that decision.
“In making this argument, Defendants attempt to discredit the evidence… by downplaying the lasting effects of Plaintiff’s injury,” the decision says. “However, an assessment of the severity of Plaintiff’s damages is a question of fact, which the trial court and the jury are in a superior position to determine.
“Specifically, the jury was in a much better position to assess the extent of pain and suffering Plaintiff had endured and likely will endure in the future, as it heard the testimony of Plaintiff and other witnesses.”