Folger v. Corbett

The principal issue in this case is whether it is necessary for the plaintiff to produce expert testimony on the issue of informed consent. The defendant’s motion for a nonsuit was granted at the close of plaintiff’s case. Plaintiff’s exceptions to the granting of the motion and an evidentiary ruling were reserved and transferred by the Trial Court (Cann, J.).

The defendant oral surgeon had removed the plaintiff’s four wisdom teeth without complication in January 1972. Afterwards plaintiff felt a numbness on the right side of her tongue as a result of damage to her lingual nerve. At trial she…