January 2005.    Brydon Hugo & Parker client Western Dental Services, Inc., California’s largest dental HMO, was sued for over $250,000 by a patient with a confirmed, permanent injury to his right-side lingual and inferior alveolar nerves resulting in permanent loss of sensation to the right side of his tongue, cheek and lips.    Plaintiff claimed the injuries were due to negligence by a general dentist in the extraction of a lower molar.    Brydon Hugo & Parker partner James Parker tried the case to an Oakland jury in late December 2004.    The jury returned a verdict on December 30 for the defense, finding the dentist had not been negligent in her treatment of plaintiff.

(Floyd Ruffin v. Western Dental Services, Alameda Superior Court, Case No. RG 03 085900)