New Jersey Dentist Holds On to Win in Broken Drill Bit Case

A patient injured when a dental drill bit broke off during a tooth extraction lost her attempt to revive a malpractice suit because she didn’t comply with New Jersey’s procedural rules, a state appeals court said Monday.

New Jersey requires professional malpractice plaintiffs to provide an affidavit of merit in which an appropriately licensed person attests that there is a reasonable probability the defendant acted outside of acceptable professional standards or practices, the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division, said in an unsigned, unpublished opinion.

Diane Reinhardt didn’t provide the required affidavit after suing Steven Rasner to recover damages for …