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Nilsen v. Franklin Dental Health
Supreme Court, Kings County

HRRV secures defense verdict at trial in malpractice action

In a hotly contested jury trial which included frantic last minute legal maneuvering, the misidentification of  one defendant by plaintiff on the witness stand, and piecing together the whereabouts of a client during one weekend in October, 2002, HRRV attorneys stood victorious by securing a defense verdict for their clients in a malpractice action brought in Kings County.

In John Nilsen v. Franklin Dental Health, Patricia Youdeem D.D.S. and Yalena Ladyzhenskaya, D.D.S, the plaintiff brought a malpractice action against several treating dentists alleging that they performed two unnecessary root canal procedures and improperly administered hypochlorite solution resulting in caustic burning and destruction of gum tissue requiring future implant surgery.

Representing the owner and practice of the clinic where plaintiff was treated, HRRV attorneys at trial argued that plaintiff had misidentified the client as a treating doctor. Using careful cross-examination and photographs of doctors at the clinic at the time of plaintiff’s treatment, the plaintiff was led to misidentify the client on the stand. Then, utilizing investigation, financial receipts and practice records, the activities of the client during the time of treatment six years earlier was carefully reconstructed for the jury. By the end of the trial, it was demonstrated that not only that the client did not treat the plaintiff, but that she was out of the office making it impossible that plaintiff have ever met the client.

After reviewing the evidence, the jury unanimously exonerated the client and dismissed the complaint.

The defendants were represented by Sean P. Dwyer.

Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome

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