Nova Southeastern University Settles Class-Action Lawsuit Over Unsterile Dental Tools for $5.5M
Nova Southeastern University will pay $5.5 million to settle a class-action lawsuit that arose after NSU disclosed that student dentists training in orthodontics failed to properly sterilize equipment used on patients, according to a Broward judge’s final order.
The settlement includes payments of $3,000 each to 1,152 class members – mostly children – totaling nearly $3.5 million. Another 29 plaintiffs consolidated from other cases will receive $2,000 apiece, or $58,000. The lead plaintiff, Tiffany Aguero, whose young daughter was a patient at NSU’s Post-Graduate Orthodontic Clinic, will receive $12,000.
Attorney Jay Cohen and his Fort Lauderdale law firm, Cohen, Blostein & Ayala, will collect $1.8 million in attorney’s fees, plus $30,000 in costs. Another $100,000 was set aside to pay the costs of administering a settlement fund that will oversee the various payouts, under the deal approved by Broward Circuit Judge Nicholas Lopane on March 1.
In an interview Tuesday, Cohen placed the blame for what happened squarely on the university because too much pressure was placed on the post-graduate dental students.
