Prankster dentist wins case against insurer 27 Jul 2007, 0733 hrs IST , AP
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OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON: An oral surgeon who played a practical joke on his assistant by implanting fake boar tusks in her mouth while she was under anesthesia was sued for it, but ended up getting a last laugh.
Dr. Robert Woo, who is originally from Hong Kong, took photos of her porcine dental work that later made the rounds. The employee, Tina Alberts, felt humiliated and quit, later suing her boss.
When Woo's insurance company, Fireman's Fund, would not deal with the lawsuit, Woo settled out of court with Alberts for $250,000 - and sued the insurers. A Superior Court jury agreed with him and awarded him $750,000, plus the out-of-court settlement he had paid.
The insurance company won the next round, with the state Court of Appeals saying the prank had nothing to do with Woo's practice of dentistry and that the carrier had no duty to represent him in the lawsuit. But the state Supreme Court on Thursday restored the award for Woo.
The backstory, the court said, is that Alberts' family raises potbellied pigs and that she frequently talked about them at the office where she worked for five years. ``Woo made several offensive comments about her pigs,'' the court said. Woo later said that his jest was part of ``a friendly working environment'' he fostered in the office.
One day when Woo was performing oral surgery on Alberts to replace two teeth with implants, he installed temporary bridges that he had shaped to look like boar tusks. While she was still under anesthesia, he took photos, some with her eyes propped open. Before she woke up, Woo removed the ``tusks'' and put in the proper replacement teeth.
Woo says he did not personally show her the pictures, thinking them too ugly, but that staffers gave her copies at her birthday party. Stunned, she went home and never went back to work. Woo tried to apologize; Alberts did not respond.
Soon, though, she sued, alleging ``outrage, battery, invasion of privacy'' and so forth. Fireman's told Woo his policy did not cover such claims and declined to pay for his defense. The practical joke was intentional and not a normal business activity, the insurers said.
Woo was delighted with the ruling, said his lawyer, Richard Kilpatrick, who described Woo as a kindhearted and fun-loving man who was chagrined that an office prank involving him and three other women staffers turned out so badly.
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Yup. This is why dentists have to pay such high rates for malpractice insurance.
Multiple injustices in this case. The judge should have laughed that humorless, gold-digging assistant out of court. Nor should the insurance company have to pay one cent for the settlement.
This case illustrates everything that's wrong with our legal system.
His professional license should be revoked. He should never be allowed to practice dentistry again, because he has demonstrated a completely unprofessional, cavalier attitude toward a patient's dignity. Personally, I think he should be beaten to within an inch of his life and made to suffer for the rest of his existence. He violated a huge trust and he needs to pay for it in a very real and substantive manner. Losing his license just isn't good enough.
Humorless assistant?
I just do not understand that attitude. it really displays a gross and immoral lack of decency. Would it also be funny if a cardiologist, during a heart transplant operation, temporarily put an alarm clock in the patient's chest after removing the heart? Ha-ha-ha...isn't that just a riot.
I agree the surgeon's act was unprofessional. It merited a censure, and possibly a fine, by the Washington State Dental Board. If she were upset by it, she should could have reported to the board.
However, it did not result in any financial or physical harm to the woman, so it definitely did not merit a lawsuit. It should have been laughed out of court.
“I doubt the dentist will be providing services to employees anytime soon.”
Most likely by their choice, seeing as he has no qualms about abusing professional trust while they’re knocked out cold.
I think it was silliness all around, but that her coworkers had copies of the pics while she was ignorant of them went beyond a “harmless” practical joke. It was mean-spirited.