A Michigan man was awarded $2.75 million after a dentist botched an attempt to remove a mass from the patient's lower jaw, Macomb Daily reported April 21.
The patient, Giorgio Webster, 32, went to dentist Jeffrey Osguthorpe, MD, DDS, on April 20, 2018, for a biopsy of a lesion in his lower jaw, the Macomb Daily reported. The biopsy turned into a full removal of the mass, where Mr. Osguthrope injured the carotid and lingual arteries, causing substantial bleeding, Mr. Webster's attorney, A. Vince Colella, told Macomb Daily.
Mr. Webster was transported to a hospital, where emergency room physicians were unable to stop the bleeding, according to Mr. Colella. Mr. Webster was then airlifted to a level 1 trauma center to undergo surgery to stop the bleeding, Mr. Colella said.
Mr. Webster suffered permanent injury from the incident and has "difficulty chewing and numbness in his mouth," according to the jury verdict form.
In the July 2019 lawsuit, Mr. Colella and his co-counsel Melanie Duda alleged Dr. Osguthorpe breached oral surgery standards of care. They argued that Dr. Osguthorpe attempted to remove the lesion without trying to "needle aspirate" it first, entered the mass with a drill, failed to get permission for the surgery and failed to get the proper diagnostic tests, according to Macomb Daily.