Can You Trust Your Dentist After This!
If your dentist inserted fake boar's tusks into your mouth while you're unconscious, under anesthetics, you might be a little peeved, eh? When Dr. Robert Woo, in Auburn, WA, worked on his assistant, he thought he'd have a little chuckle. His employee, Tina Alberts, raised potbelly pigs, and frequently spoke of them at work. So naturally Woo thought he should implant boar's tusks while she was under anesthetic for, as the Associated Press puts it, "a different procedure." (You mean she didn't ask for pig's teeth?)
As Woo's attorney puts it, Woo was simply trying to foster "a friendly working environment." Anyway, Woo inserted the tusks, propped Alberts' eyes open, took photos, removed the tusks, and continued the work. Alberts was none the wiser, until other employees showed her the pictures at a birthday party.
And that's where it gets weird. Alberts sues; Woo's insurance company refuses to cover his hijinks (after all, they said, this wasn't regular dental work!); Woo settles out of court with Alberts, paying her $250k; Woo sues insurance company; Woo wins; insurance company appeals, and wins. Woo goes to the Washington Supreme Court...and wins!
According to Associated Press, Supreme Court Justice Mary Fairhurst claimed that inserting the boar's tusks was "an integral, if odd, part of the assistant's dental surgery." Wow, the law is truly an ass...er, pig. The insurance company now has to pay $750,000 to Woo.
Of course, if I were the insurance company I'd start wondering if everyone was in on this from the start! The assistant makes $1/4M, the dentist makes $1/2M, and everybody's happy! Except, of course, the insurance company...