Source: www.hometownlife.com
Author: Stacy Jenkins

It may be the largest jury verdict award for a dental malpractice lawsuit, but Michigan’s tort laws prevent the $15 million award from becoming a reality.

Farmington Hills attorney Robert Gittleman said he is “thrilled” by the $15 million verdict reached Aug. 27 by an Oakland County Circuit Court jury because “it sends a strong message.”

But the tort laws, he says, are “ludicrous and unfair.”

Under Michigan’s tort laws, his client will receive $500,000 instead of the $15 million the jury thought she deserves.

“It’s not tort reform, it’s tort deform,” he said. “It’s an oppressive law that messes up the jury (process) because the jury speaks, then the judge has to (rule) something else.”

Gittleman represented Herta Hopton, 61, of Novi, in the jury trial in Circuit Court Judge Steven Andrews’ courtroom in August.

Hopton, who was referred to board-certified oral surgeon Warren Vallerand, in Novi, had pain in her lower right jaw in 2005. She visited her general dentist at that time, and again in February 2006 when three lower teeth became loose in the area of the jaw pain. She was referred to a periodontist, who recommended the teeth be pulled and a bridge be inserted. A white lesion in her mouth at that time was considered to be “aspirin burn,” according to court documents.

The lesion cleared up, but another surfaced in May 2006. Hopton was then referred to oral surgeon Vallerand for lesion evaluation and a possible biopsy.

“His differential diagnosis was traumatic injury from temporary bridge or ‘tongue fussing,’” according to Gittleman’s summary. “Biopsy was not recommended.”

Hopton returned six weeks later and Vallerand reportedly found that the lesion was slowly healing, but there was a new sore spot in the area. The visits continued, with no biopsy ordered, until the lesions became larger and more painful in November 2006.

The Nov. 27, 2006, biopsy determined Hopton had stage IV cancer.

“He totally misdiagnosed it,” Gittleman said. “It’s absolute stupidity https://slotsonlinecanada.ca/. It’s called supervised neglect. She had all these appointments, without him doing a damn thing.”

Hopton, who is a retired Michigan State trooper, underwent eight surgeries, chemotherapy, radiation and hyperbaric treatments.

“Statistically, people with stage IV cancer have a 30-percent survival rate for five years,” Gittleman said. “Hopefully, she will be in that 30 percent.”

Hopton declined to comment.

Gittleman has specialized in dental malpractice lawsuits for more than 35 years.

“I’ve never seen it so blatant, from a board-certified oral surgeon,” he said. “He didn’t just deflate the ball, he threw the ball into the sewer. A simple biopsy would have prevented all of this.”

Vallerand’s attorney, Craig Nemier, who practices in Farmington Hills, said his client was not negligent.

“This was not outrageous,” he said. “My client monitored the white spot four months, and it kept getting smaller and was totally resolved.”

He said the lesion that was eventually biopsied was not the original spot and it showed up more than two months after her last visit to Vallerand. He noted that the lesion from Hopton’s Sept. 11, 2006, visit was healed. The cancer diagnosis came Nov. 27, 2006.

Nemier, who claims Gittleman is publicizing the jury’s $15 million verdict for his own advancement, said the parties agreed on $500,000. He explained that while the jury may have awarded $15 million, Michigan’s tort reform of 1996 puts a cap on medical malpractice pain and suffering awards. For 2009, that cap is $410,800. Nemier said they entered into a “high-low” agreement, with $500,000 being the high.

Gittleman calls the award “a reduced payment on the verdict, pursuant to Michigan’s malpractice caps.”