On Dec. 31, 2008, plaintiff Kelley Hunter, 53, a contractor, underwent maxillary and mandibular osteotomies by Sanford L. Ratner, D.D.S. at St. Joseph Hospital of Orange, to correct his obstructive sleep apnea. Six days after the surgeries, Hunter developed deep vein thrombosis, resulting in a pulmonary embolism that required hospitalization. Hunter sued Ratner and St. Joseph Hospital of Orange. He alleged that the defendants failed to properly treat him post-surgery, and that this failure constituted medical malpractice. St. Joseph Hospital was dismissed from the case prior to trial. Thus, the matter proceeded against Ratner only. Plaintiff’s counsel contended that Ratner was negligent for not ordering a sequential compression device for venous thromboembolism prophylaxis following Hunter’s surgeries. Counsel argued that the standard of medical practice required an objective assessment based on the patient’s verifiable risk factors, and that it was below the standard of care for Ratner to ignore those factors and simply declare Hunter a low-risk patient because of the type of surgeries. The plaintiff’s pulmonary expert opined that Hunter was at high risk for developing DVT postoperatively, due to his age, obesity, prior cardiac history and the length of the surgeries performed by Ratner. The expert testified that the standard of care required that that a sequential compression device be used for prevention of DVT and that had the compression device been used, Hunter’s DVT would not have occurred. Ratner claimed that the risk of DVT in Hunter with his risk factors was one percent or less, and that DVT would not have been prevented if the device had been ordered. In addition, defense counsel contended that the standard of care for oral surgeons in 2008 did not require ordering the use of a sequential compression device following this type of surgery. The defense’s pulmonary expert testified that pulmonologists are not qualified to testify on the standard of care of compression devices in oral surgery cases, since the American Academy of Chest Surgeons, who promulgated the guidelines for DVT prophylaxis, did not study oral surgeries. Additionally, unlike other major surgeries, defense counsel argued that the incidence of DVT is extremely low in oral surgery cases like the one in question. Further, the expert claimed that because compression devices are not very effective on obese people, and because of the timing of the symptoms, one could not state whether the DVT would have been prevented had the device been used in this case., Hunter developed deep vein thrombosis, resulting in a pulmonary embolism. He subsequently developed a life-threatening nose bleed from the chemical prophylaxis required to treat the DVT and embolism, requiring an eight day hospitalization for respiratory failure and hemorrhagic shock. Hunter claimed that as a result, he was temporarily disabled for approximately five months. Thus, Hunter sought recovery of damages for loss of wages at approximately $6,250 per month for five months. He also sought recovery of damages in excess of $100,000 for past medical expenses and an unspecified amount of damages for his pain and suffering.