A dental chain whose employees claimed it was normal for a 4-year-old patient to be "swollen, in pain, crying, visibly shaken, upset and afraid of the dentist" after they pulled several of his teeth and drilled others, often without anesthesia, has been denied summary judgment.
Supreme Court Justice Deborah Karalunas in Onondaga County (See Profile), the coordinating justice in more than 30 pending cases involving a chain of dental offices geared toward children covered by Medicaid, denied summary judgment on malpractice, fraud and other claims, finding "evidence from which a jury could infer that defendants intentionally pursued a scheme to maximize corporate profits at the expense of dental care."
