According to multiple recent news reports, a Pennsylvania dentist was ordered to pay $11.5 million in damages after allegedly failing to promptly assess a patient’s tongue ulcer, which led to the patient’s condition developing into cancer. An appeals court recently upheld the jury verdict.
A three-judge panel of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court rejected the appeal of Linda Shen, a dentist at Shen Smiles and Drums Dental Lab in Drums, Pennsylvania.
Dr. Shen argued that the 2024 jury verdict and damages were invalid due to a lack of evidence of negligence and challenged the trial’s decision to allow witnesses to allege that the clinic failed to properly maintain patient records.
The case stemmed from a 2021 lawsuit filed by Mary Heffelfinger, a longtime patient of Dr. Shen, alleging delays in diagnosis.
Over a seven-month period, Heffelfinger claimed she sought medical attention eight times for her tongue ulcer, but Dr. Shen never recommended a biopsy. Hefelfinger claimed that Dr. Shen’s negligence caused her disease to progress to stage IV squamous cell carcinoma, forcing her to undergo chemotherapy and have part of her tongue removed.
She also alleged that after her diagnosis, when she requested her dental records from Dr. Shen, he required her to sign a waiver before releasing them.
After refusing to sign, the records were withheld and possibly destroyed. Dr. Shen argued that he had attempted to deliver the records but discovered they were missing, suspecting they were stolen by the patient’s sister, a clinic employee.
During a three-day trial in February 2024, Dr. Shen maintained his innocence, stating that he had referred the patient to a specialist and that the delay in diagnosis was due to the patient’s failure to follow the doctor’s advice. The jury ultimately found him negligent and ordered him to pay substantial damages.