Judgment Upheld Against Dentist Who Refused Refund

A dispute over a $950 bill for braces that so pained a 9-year-old girl that she was near “the point of starvation” led to a court decision Tuesday affirming a $26,000 judgment against an orthodontist who refused to make a refund.

The 4th District Court of Appeal in Santa Ana rejected an appeal by the orthodonist, Dr. Edward S. Salkin, who claimed that he had not been allowed to defend himself against the lawsuit.

Tracey Evans was fitted with metal braces to correct an overbite in 1975. She experienced cutting of the skin and rawness in the mouth when she followed Salkin’s orders to remove the braces at every meal.

‘Take Me to Court’

Eventually, the pain became so great that she refused to remove the braces, “experienced a pronounced weight loss and became very ill,” according to papers filed by her lawyer, Franklin F. Naumann.

After more than two years, her father, Donald C. Evans, demanded that Salkin return the $950 he charged, according to documents filed in the case.

“I asked him for a refund, and (told him) we were going to discontinue with his practice. And he said we were not going to get a refund, and if we didn’t like his workmanship, ‘take me to court,’ ” the father said, according to papers in the court file.

Salkin had agreed when he joined the Orange County Dental Society to submit any fee disputes with patients to a peer-review committee of fellow dentists. The decision of the committee was supposed to be binding, according to the appellate court opinion.

“The committee concluded Salkin’s treatment was inappropriate and directed a refund of the fee,” according to the appellate court.

Salkin refused to make the refund, and Evans filed a lawsuit, demanding $25,000 in extra damages for pain and suffering.

Salkin and his attorney failed to show up for a hearing in 1984, and a default judgment for $25,950 was entered against him. That judgment was affirmed Tuesday by the appellate court in an opinion written by Justice Thomas F. Crosby Jr.

The court found that Salkin had agreed to “binding arbitration” through the dental society, and that when he refused to honor the peer-review decision, he was acting in bad faith. The damage award was justified on that basis, Crosby wrote.

‘Very Painful Procedure’

As to Salkin’s complaint that the damages were too high, the justices found sufficient evidence in the records of the case to support the award.

“Tracey Evans was subjected to a very painful procedure that caused rawness and lacerations in her mouth and caused her to refuse food to the point of starvation,” Crosby wrote.