Orthodontic Patient Kept In Braces For 12 Years
In 1994, Elizabeth Maclyman, 22, visited Firestone Dental Group in South Gate, to initiate corrective orthodontic treatment to straighten her teeth and correct a 3mm overjet. Firestone Dental assigned an orthodontist to put braces on Maclyman. Over the next two years, Maclyman was assigned four different orthodontists. During the course of her treatment, her overjet expanded from 3mm to 10mm.In 1996, Dr. Ted Benaderet became Maclyman’s general orthodontist and remained in this capacity for the next four years. During this time, the overjet required surgery, which was performed in July 2002 by Gary Wyatt, an oral surgeon. The surgery failed and yielded a crossbite on the right side.Shortly thereafter, Maclyman was assigned a new orthodontist, Dr. Ronald Greenspan, under whose care she remained until electing to leave Firestone Dental in late 2001 for an orthodontist in Newport Beach. After that doctor’s retirement in 2002, she started going to Dr. Todd Walkow.
In December 2002, Wyatt again performed surgery on her and it also failed. A year later, in November 2003 a third surgery proved successful and, in March 2006, after 12 years in braces and a succession of orthodontists, Maclyman’s braces were finally removed.
Maclyman sued Firestone Dental, Greenspan and Benaderet for dental malpractice.
Maclyman’s counsel claimed that, during a crucial period while she was recuperating from her first surgery, Firestone Dental was without a staff orthodontist for 4-5 months, causing her to endure an uncontrolled orthodontic condition between the time a splint was removed and her jawbone was fully healed. Firestone Dental’s failure to provide her with continual care also resulted in her being in braces for too long a period of time. Furthermore, Firestone Dental allowed an individual who was not a dentist to perform dentistry, plaintiff counsel contended.
Maclyman’s attorneys argued that Benaderet did not maintain proper communication with Wyatt throughout the planning and completion of her first oral surgery. She also alleged that Benaderet provided negligent post-surgery treatment by failing to insert a continuous arch wire. Regarding Greenspan, Maclyman’s counsel contended that the crossbite elastics he inserted failed to correct the right- side crossbite that resulted from the first failed oral surgery. She also contended that Greenspan did not properly chart the right-side crossbite when he became her general orthodontist months after the surgery and that he inserted an arch wire that was too light and flexible in response to the failed surgery. Maclyman maintained that Greenspan’s negligent treatment failed to stabilize the upper arch and exasperated the negative effects of the failed surgery and Benaderet’s negligent patient management.
Firestone Dental denied malpractice, asserting that the plaintiff’s case presented significant challenges from the onset and that there was no malpractice performed at any time by any of its employees. It contended that Maclyman missed numerous appointments throughout the six years that she was a patient of Firestone Dental and that repeated damage to appliances placed by orthodontists contributed to the amount of time she had to remain in braces. It also argued that the increase in Maclyman’s overjet was a result of the natural progression of treatment, not improper treatment. Additionally, it argued that Wyatt was responsible for the failed surgery and that any negligence claim should be assigned to him. Firestone Dental also produced Benaderet’s pay stubs to dispute Maclyman’s claim that there were no staff orthodontists available during the months following her failed surgery. Firestone Dental also argued that all of its orthodontists were independent contractors, for whom it is not liable on a theory of respondeat superior.
Benaderet, for his part, claimed that when he began treating Maclyman she already displayed a 10mm overjet. He maintained that he did not do anything wrong in treating her that would have caused a relapse following the first surgery. In fact, he claimed, he was not even aware that Maclyman had scheduled an oral surgery until after Wyatt had performed it. Benaderet denied being unavailable to treat Maclyman for the four months following the first surgery.
Greenspan’s counsel noted that his client was only Maclyman’s orthodontist for seven months after the first failed oral surgery. He argued that her surgery failed due to a surgical relapse and that the crossbite elastics that he inserted following the surgery were not able to correct the complications that the surgery presented. Greenspan’s lawyer pointed out that Greenspan had advised Benaderet that he was concerned about the amount of time she had been in braces and was the one who got Benaderet to remove the braces so that she could visit a periodontist; he even eventually referred Maclyman to another orthodontist so she could obtain a second opinion regarding the length of time that she had been in braces.
From 2000 to 2003, Maclyman underwent three oral surgeries. In each instance, her mouth was wired shut for seven weeks afterwards. She had to have pins, wires, screws, plates and implants placed into her mouth and jaws throughout the time that she was receiving treatment from Firestone Dental. Since Maclyman was in braces for 12 years, she suffered generalized bone loss and lost tooth number 31 entirely due to periodontal concerns.
Maclyman claimed $21,885 in past medical bills and $43,750 in future medical bills to surgically correct the damages caused to her mouth and jaw.
She also sought damages for past wage losses for the time she stayed home from work with her jaw wired shut. She sought unspecified damages for the pain and suffering associated with remaining in braces for over a decade.
The jury found Firestone 30% at fault, Benaderet 30%, non-party Wyatt 35%, and Maclyman 5%. They found no liability on Greenspan’s part. The jury awarded the plaintiff $344,838, which will be reduced accordingly. According to Greenspan’s attorney, the decision of plaintiff’s counsel not to name Wyatt was “a strategic mistake.” Dr. Wyatt, he said, “was responsible for two failed surgeries. He had the patient’s confidence. But Maclyman didn’t want to sue him. [Instead, her attorney] used Dr. Wyatt as his client’s lead expert. Although found 35% responsible for the non-economic loss, he pays nothing, charges plaintiff an expert witness fee for coming to trial, and skates free despite errors made.