On March 31, 2025, Judge Kathleen Sheedy, of the Superior Court, Monmouth County, granted Mr. Patterson’s motion to reconsider a prior court order denying summary judgment, dismissing the case with prejudice.   Plaintiff claimed the defendant oral surgery group failed to timely diagnose and treat oral cancer, leading to the death of a 71 year old woman.

In the underlying motion, Mr. Patterson argued that plaintiff’s oral surgery expert failed to raise a triable issue of fact on the element of causation.  The court disagreed, finding that the expert established that the defendant’s alleged negligence led to a two-and-a-half year delay in diagnosis.  Mr. Patterson moved to reconsider the court’s decision, arguing that the court had erred in finding that the expert’s testimony established a prima facie case on the element of causation. 

At deposition, Mr. Patterson established that plaintiff’s expert had no knowledge of the decedent’s staging at the time of diagnosis, the treatment provided, and the prognosis. He had no idea whether the decedent was treated with radiation/chemotherapy, the nature of the surgical resection, or whether there was evidence of metastasis. Accordingly, Mr. Patterson argued in the motion for reconsideration that plaintiff’s expert simply offered a conclusion (i.e. there was a delay in diagnosis) without offering the requisite “why and wherefore” explaining the basis for his opinion. 

In addition, plaintiff had voluntarily discontinued the action against the co-defendant oral surgeon while the underlying motion for summary judgment was pending.  Mr. Patterson argued that plaintiff’s voluntary dismissal of the co-defendant necessarily precluded claims of vicarious liability against the defendant group for that surgeon’s actions.   Moreover, plaintiff had only offered an Affidavit of Merit as to claims against the discontinued co-defendant.

The Court granted the motion to dismiss, holding that plaintiff’s expert offered no explanation as to how the alleged delay actually caused harm in this instance; the voluntary dismissal of the co-defendant extinguished claims of vicarious liability; and plaintiff failed to offer an Affidavit of Merit regarding allegations against other providers at the defendant oral surgery group.