OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - An oral surgeon who temporarily implanted
fake boar tusks in his assistant's mouth as a practical joke and
got sued for it has gotten the state's high court to back up his
gag.
Dr. Robert Woo of Auburn had put in the phony tusks while the
woman was under anesthesia for a different procedure. He took them
out before she awoke, but he first shot photos that eventually made
it around the office.
The employee, Tina Alberts, felt so humiliated when she saw the
pictures that she quit and sued her boss.
Woo's insurance company, Fireman's Fund, refused to cover the
claim, saying the practical joke was intentional and not a normal
business activity his insurance policy covered, so Woo settled out
of court. He agreed to pay Alberts $250,000, then he sued his
insurers.
A King County Superior Court jury sided with Woo, ordering
Fireman's Fund to pay him $750,000, plus the out-of-court
settlement. The insurance company won the next round, with the
state Court of Appeals saying the prank had nothing to do with
Woo's practice of dentistry. On Thursday, the state Supreme Court
restored Woo's award.
In a sprightly 5-4 decision, Supreme Court Justice Mary
Fairhurst wrote that Woo's practical joke was an integral, if odd,
part of the assistant's dental surgery and "conceivably" should
trigger the professional liability coverage of his policy.
Dissenting Justice James Johnson said the prank wasn't a dental
procedure at all and only "rewards Dr. Woo's obnoxious behavior
and allows him to profit handsomely."
The back story, the court wrote, is that Alberts' family raises
potbellied pigs and that she frequently talked about them at the
office where she worked for five years.
Woo said his jests about the pigs were part of "a friendly
working environment" that he tried to foster.
The oral surgery on Alberts was intended to replace two of her
teeth with implants, which Woo did. First, though, he installed
temporary bridges that he had shaped to look like boar tusks, and
while Alberts was still under anesthesia, he took photos, some with
her eyes propped open. Before she woke up, he removed the "tusks"
and put in the proper replacement teeth.
Woo says he didn't personally show her the pictures but staffers
gave her copies at a birthday party.
Woo's lawyer, Richard Kilpatrick, described the surgeon as a
kindhearted, fun-loving man who was chagrined that an office prank
turned out so badly. He was delighted with the high court's
decision, Kilpatrick said.
Attorneys for the insurance company did not immediately return
calls seeking comment.

By DAVID AMMONS
Associated Press Writer