Cara Joyce Obtains Defense Verdict in Waterbury Superior Court

Morrison Mahoney Partner Cara Joyce obtained a defense verdict in a dental malpractice case after a three day jury trial in Waterbury Superior Court. The plaintiff alleged that the dentist had performed a procedure to place crowns on two of his teeth without his informed consent. The plaintiff had first gone to the dentist to seek treatment for his two front teeth which were significantly broken. The plaintiff admitted that the dentist recommended crowns to repair his teeth and that he initially consented to the procedure. The plaintiff claimed, however, that after initially consenting to the procedure, he specifically revoked his consent and told the dentist he did not want the procedure. He alleged that the dentist went ahead and performed the crown procedure anyway (since he “felt bad” for wasting the dentist’s time, he asked if he could remove the self-diagnosed excess enamel behind his teeth instead, which is what he thought the dentist was doing when he installed the crowns). Cara was able to impeach the plaintiff’s credibility by eliciting contradictory testimony from him on such material issues as how long his teeth had been broken before he first consulted a dentist, the extent of the damage to his teeth, and even contradictory testimony as to whether or not he had been provided any information about what the crown procedure entailed. The court had permitted the plaintiff to argue that he would need the crowns replaced at least twice during the course of his life (and seek future damages on this issue) despite not having any expert testimony on the issue. The jury deliberated for only fifteen minutes before returning a defense verdict on all counts.