Trial News

Ellen Brodsky, a 48-year-old dentist, remodeled her dental office. Henry Schein, Inc., installed new equipment in the office, including seven Helios 3000 dental lamps that were mounted on the ceiling and attached by a mounting pole to a vertical pole housing the swiveling lamp. While treating a patient in one of her examination rooms, Brodsky moved the Helios lamp closer to the patient. The lamp disengaged from its ceiling mount and struck Brodsky’s head and face, resulting in a closed-head injury.

Brodsky, who had earned $183,000 annually at the time of the incident, has not been able to return to work full time. Additionally, she is unable to engage in physical activities she once enjoyed, has required ear and neck surgery, and suffers from tinnitus and light sensitivity. Her medical expenses totaled $225,000.

Brodsky sued Henry Schein, Inc., alleging that its installer had failed to drill a hole into the ceiling column and lamp pole for purposes of installing a roll pin to secure the two poles together. This failure to install the roll pin caused the dental lamp to fall, the plaintiff asserted.

The defendant was found to be negligent as a matter of law, and the case proceeded to trial on damages. The jury awarded $710,000, which included $355,000 in noneconomic damages.

Citation: Brodsky v. Henry Schein, Inc., No. 8:15-cv-03587-PX (D. Md. Nov. 9, 2018).

Plaintiff counsel: Norman Schneider, Alexandria, Va.; and Ronald Canter and Stuart Herschfeld, both of Rockville, Md.