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A Morris County jury on Sept. 26 awarded $1.33 million to a couple in a dental malpractice case, Seergy v. Ricker.

The case involved claims that defendant periodontist Dr. Frank Ricker drilled through the bone underneath patient Kathleen Seergy's molar, injuring the nerve and causing destruction to the bone in her lower jaw.

Seergy and her husband Michael Seergy, of Mendham, sued Ricker, of Bedminster. Seergy, 61 at the time of the procedure, visited Ricker's dental office for a tooth extraction in preparation for an implant, the suit claimed.

The normally one-hour procedure took more than four hours, with the extraction finally being halted with root fragments left in the area of the extraction, according to the Seergy's attorney, Bruce Nagel of Nagel Rice in Roseland. Nagel worked with Susan Connors of the same firm on the case.

Judgement was entered in the case on Oct. 8, according to electronic court documents.

David Lustbader of Lustbader & Lustbader in Livingston represented Ricker.

"The judge was very experienced but we felt he made several errors and we've filed a motion for a new trial," Lustbader said in a phone call. "One of his errors was that he precluded us from playing a video of a treating doctor that the plaintiff videotaped. Another error was that our expert was precluded from testifying about causality. A third error was plaintiff's attorney argued the 'golden rule' in his summation which the state Supreme Court and Appellate Division have barred for decades."

After the procedure, Seergy experience immediate and ongoing pain and numbness, then suffered a spontaneous jaw fracture while eating a piece of bread 15 days after the extraction, the suit claimed.

Nagel said Seergy underwent a nerve-regeneration surgery, which only partially resolved the symptoms of the nerve impairment, and she continues to suffer from permanent pain, numbness, tingling, loss of hot and cold sensation, and waves of electric shock from her center chin to her right cheek.

Her jaw bone now cannot hold an implant, her medical expert testified during the six-day trial before Morris County Superior Court Judge W. Hunt Dumont. The seven-member jury unanimously found Ricker negligent and awarded Seergy $1.1 million, and awarded her husband $233,000, according to the lawyers and documents.

Seergy, now 65, "has pain every day and discomfort in her face. It is a daily struggle for her," Nagel said in a phone call. "It's a shame that this periodontist had to injure Kate the way he did."

Nagel said the award "stands as the largest dental malpractice verdict in Morris County history, and one of the top three highest in the state."

— Suzette Parmley

$1.1M For Injured Bus Passenger

Jones v. NJ Transit: A transit bus passenger who claimed he sustained spinal injuries during an incident at the Lincoln Tunnel tolls settled his Hudson County suit for $1.1 million on Aug. 5. It was approved by NJ Transit's board on Sept. 12.

On May 29, 2016, plaintiff Jimmy J. Jones was a passenger on the Manhattan-bound NJ Transit bus driven by Hayford Ocloo. Approaching the tunnel toll plaza, the bus switched lanes to a closed lane, striking the open door of a toll booth. The suit claimed the bus also struck the concrete barrier on its right side, though the defense disputed that the barrier was struck, according to Jones' attorney, Arthur M. Pavluk III of Barrett & Pavluk in Ocean.

The suit contended that the impact with the barrier resulted in spinal injuries to Jones. He underwent a three-level fusion at the cervical level—including at one level that previously had been treated with a fusion procedure in 2005—and later had a spinal stimulator implanted, Pavluk said. Jones, a self-employed jeweler, has received pain-management injections, and has experienced numbness in his hands and fingers that has limited his ability to work with small objects, Pavluk added.

NJ Transit and Ocloo contended that Jones' spinal condition resulted from a preexisting condition, Pavluk said.

The parties settled during jury selection, with NJ Transit agreeing to pay $1.1 million.

NJ Transit and Ocloo were represented by Deputy Attorney General John Regina. The New Jersey Attorney General's Office confirmed the Aug. 5 settlement and said NJ Transit's board approved it on Sept. 12. Payment remained pending as of Friday, the office said.

— David Gialanella