New Jersey Verdicts

Plaintiff(s):

Paige Peterson (Female, 17 Years)

Plaintiff Attorney(s):

Mariangela Chiaravalloti;
Friedman & Friedman;
New York,
NY,
for
Paige Peterson

Plaintiff Expert(s):

Jonathan Harris;
M.D.;
Family Medicine;
Endwell,
NY called by
Mariangela Chiaravalloti

Defendant(s):

Lisa Plunkett, M.D., 

Hunterdon Family Practice & Obstetrics

Defense Attorney(s):

Nancy Crosta Landale;
Farkas & Donohue, LLC;
Florham Park,
NJ,
for
Lisa Plunkett, M.D., Hunterdon Family Practice & Obstetrics

Defendant Expert(s):

Martin Moskovitz;
Plastic Surgery/Reconstructive Surgery;
Paramus,
NJ called by
Nancy Crosta Landale ■ Robert Winn;
Family Medicine;
Philadelphia,
PA called by
Nancy Crosta Landale

On July 21, 2010, plaintiff Paige Peterson, 17, a student, incurred second-degree burns on both of her arms during a laser hair-removal procedure performed by family practitioner Lisa Plunkett, M.D., at her office in Flemington. Paige had been receiving laser hair-removal treatments from Plunkett for approximately one year. Paige sued Plunkett and her medical practice, Hunterdon Family Practice & Obstetrics, alleging she was negligent in her treatment, amounting to medical malpractice. (The medical practice was voluntarily dismissed as a defendant immediately before trial.) Paige claimed that Plunkett deviated from the standard of care for laser hair-removal treatment, because she had a significant suntan on the day of treatment and it is inappropriate to perform laser hair-removal on portions of skin that have pigmentation evidencing a suntan. The laser device used in the procedure cannot differentiate between dark hairs and dark skin pigmentation, resulting in the laser burning the skin. The defense denied negligence and contended that Paige suffered a naturally occurring reaction to the treatment, a known risk associated with hair removal, noting that Plunkett had safely treated Paige for about one year. (Informed consent was not an issue in the case.)

Soon after the laser hair-removal treatment on July 21, 2010, Paige developed second-degree, blistering burns on both arms from her mid-upper arms to her wrists. The burns were in a pattern of rectangular stripes across her arms, each in the dimension of the laser path, about 1.5 x 0.5 inches. About two-thirds of the burns were on Paige’s left arm and one-third on her right arm. Following a healing period, Paige was required to wear long-sleeved clothing and use sunscreen lotion for one year. After the one-year period, discoloration from the burns had diminished and Paige’s skin-tone returned to near its baseline. She was medically released to allow some exposure to the sun, but when she did so the unburned portions of the arm tanned (hypo-pigmented) and the burned portions (hyper-pigmented) appeared as pale stripes. Paige continues to have to wear long-sleeved clothing and use sunscreen lotion on both arms at all times. Plaintiff’s expert testified the hyper-pigmentation problem is permanent. The defense’s experts noted that Paige’s damaged skin-tone had, by the time of trial, returned to 95 percent normal and believed that the condition would improve over time. In addition to a family practice expert, the defense called a plastic surgeon expert as to the prognosis issue.

The jury found that the defendant committed malpractice which was the proximate cause of Paige’s injury. The damage award was $1.5 million.

Judge:

Michael F. O’Neill

Trial Length:

9
 years

Trial Deliberations:

3.75
 hours

Jury Vote:

5-1 liability, 6-0 damages

This report is based on information that was provided by plaintiff’s counsel. Defense counsel declined to contribute.