Paulson Coletti - Portland Oregon Law Firm» Dental

Apology too late

Mariko — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 00:15:34 +0000

An autistic 15-year-old boy checked into the acclaimed Seattle Children’s Hospital for a routine dental surgery and ended up dying. Because of his autism, he was unable to swallow oral medications, and so the boy was sent home with a fentanyl painkiller patch on his back. The patch ended up killing him with a narcotics overdose.

The hospital issued an apology, but the family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the hospital and the dentist and is seeking more than one million dollars. Though prescribing a fentanyl patch for pain following a dental procedure is uncommon, the boy’s mother was assured by various medical professionals that the patch would be safe. Unfortunately, this was not the case. Such patches are generally used on patients who have taken strong painkillers before, including cancer patients. The boy had never taken narcotics before, and thus the dose released by the patch proved fatal.

Sure, it was a mistake, and the hospital has taken steps to ensure such a mistake does not happen again, but I don’t know if that makes the boy’s family feel much better.

For more on this story, see this story and this one.

Do you have a bone to pick?

Mariko — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:35:45 +0000

It’s unfortunate when a prescription drug designed to help a medical condition has side efffects so severe they cause other serious medical conditions. Such is the case, allegedly, with Merck & Co.’s widely used drug for osteoporosis: Fosamax. Many claim Fosamax causes damage to the jaw (specifically, osteonecrosis of the jaw). In fact, Merck is currently embroiled in lawsuits that involve nearly 900 cases of osteonecrosis caused by Fosamax.

There’s already been some drama with the first case that has gone to trial. That trial involved a 71-year-old woman who took Fosamax from 1997 to 2006. The trial just ended in a mistrial because the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict. Jurors supposedly did not get along (there were even rumors of chair throwing in the jury room). Well, there are plenty more trials around the bend for Merck.

Chew on this — the dangers of denture creams

Mariko — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:37:02 +0000

It’s always discouraging to learn that an everyday product can be harmful to your health. A number of lawsuits now indicate that long-term use of denture creams can cause serious medical problems, including the buildup of zinc in one’s system and neurological issues.

It took some time for doctors to recognize that neurological problems in their patients were caused by denture cream use. Those named in the lawsuits include GlaxoSmithKline PLC, maker of PoliGrip, and Procter & Gamble Co., maker of Fixodent. The companies claim their products passed safety standards and are not harmful to users. They also state that zinc is commonly used as an additive or supplement. Procter & Gamble says the amount of zinc a user of Fixodent ingests per day is the same amount found in about six ounces of beef.

Many law firms are looking for denture cream cases. If you are a long-term user of denture cream products and suspect they have harmed your health, you may want to seek the advice of medical personnel or an attorney.

Dentist performs … breast surgery?

Mariko — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 00:32:46 +0000

You can file this under, “Are you kidding me?” According to a story in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer dated November 9, 2008, dentist and oral surgeon Thomas Laney has been sued for disfiguring a young woman during a breast reduction surgery that was performed in 2005. Laney has a questionable record as a dentist and oral surgeon. In 2005 he was licensed and practicing in Seattle, despite having 10 lawsuits filed against him, as well as the death of a patient.

The breast surgery came about because Laney also performed cosmetic surgery, even though he was not qualified to do so. The patient was a 15-year-old high school athlete who had difficulty and discomfort participating in sports because of her large breasts. According to the lawsuit, Laney made a number of surgical errors, including leaving the patient’s sutures in too long, which resulted in excessive scarring and deformities.

The most frightening part of this article may be that Laney still holds a dental license and is still practicing.

Fortress Insurance Finally Pays For Lingual Nerve Injury

Jane Paulson — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 20:49:11 +0000

From previous postings you may know our client won his jury trial against Willamette Dental for damage to his lingual nerve from a wisdom tooth extraction. The trial was in Portland, Oregon in June 2006. Willamette Dental was insured by Fortress Insurance and appealed the jury verdict. The case was argued before the Oregon Court of Appeals by Maureen Leonard for our client and we prevailed. The insurance company tried to get our client to settle for less than 1/3 the verdict and then less than 1/2 the verdict (not including the 9% interest that was running on the judgment). Insurance companies try to wear down clients. Fortunately, believing in the jury and the court system, our client stood up to the insurance company and didn’t blink. Last Thursday, July 31, 2008, over two years after the verdict, our client received a check from the insurance company for the full amount of the jury verdict plus interest.

Little guy: 1

Insurance company: 0

Dental care causing patient deaths?

Mariko — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 01:02:15 +0000

Who could imagine that dental care could be hazardous enough to cause death? Though uncommon, apparently there have been enough patient deaths resulting from dental care to prompt the state of Washington’s Health Secretary to ask the state’s dental board, known as the Washington Dental Quality Assurance Commission, to launch an investigation.

The Seattle P-I newspaper first published a story on July 15, 2008, that investigated three patient deaths. The article asserted that the dental board’s investigations of these deaths were inadequate.

The dental board took no legal action in any of the cases, and as a result, patients and consumers were sheltered from the information about the dentists involved; only cases in which the dental board initiates action or files charges are made public in Washington State.

A follow-up story by the Seattle P-I can be found here. Staying informed about actions filed against your dental care provider is not a bad idea. In the state of Oregon you can look up this information at the Oregon Board of Dentistry site, located here.