New York, NY (August 6, 2025) – Rawle & Henderson partner William S. Spiegel secured a defense verdict in Bronx County New York Supreme Court for his oral surgeon client, in a case involving a claimed jaw fracture allegedly caused by the surgeon during the extraction of the plaintiff’s impacted molars.

A week after the surgery the plaintiff continued to experience jaw pain, causing her to seek relief at a local hospital. There the physicians diagnosed a jaw fracture, admitted her to the hospital, and treated her for a jaw fracture.

At trial, the plaintiff’s medical expert testified that the oral surgeon deviated from the standard of care with this high risk extraction, used too much force during the procedure, and failed to diagnose and treat the fracture.

Rawle & Henderson’s experts testified that the procedure was indicated and that only routine force was used. Although the plaintiff was hospitalized and treated for a jaw fracture, the defense’s oral and maxillofacial radiology expert testified that there was, in fact, no fracture.

Claiming permanent facial nerve damage, the plaintiff asked the jury to award $1.3 million dollars, to compensate for the injury and lifetime of treatment needed for the temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD) that resulted from the jaw fracture.

After a seven-day trial, the jury deliberated less than one hour and returned a unanimous verdict in favor of Rawle’s client.

In the end, the jury appeared most troubled by credibility issues with the plaintiff and the plaintiff’s expert, which came up during the trial.  They felt that key information was withheld from the plaintiff’s expert, and that the plaintiff was exaggerating her injuries.

The verdict was achieved with the incredibly hard work of New York partner Robyn S. Goldfarb and associate Jonathan Van Dusen, as well as paralegal Lissette Lopez.

About Rawle & Henderson LLP:  Founded in 1783, Rawle & Henderson has been recognized by the American Bar Association as the oldest law firm in continuous practice in the United States. With offices in Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, its lawyers represent the interests of corporations, businesses, individuals and their insurers.  For more information, visit http://www.rawle.com