Mary Heffelfinger is a 68 year-old woman who resides in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Linda Shen, DDS is licensed to practice dentistry in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and is the sole owner of her professional corporation, Shen Smiles, PC (“Shen Smiles”) in Drums, Pennsylvania. Heffelfinger had known Dr. Shen for over a decade when she became her patient in 2013.
On May 13, 2018, Heffelfinger went to Dr. Shen for dental care with a lesion present on the left side of her tongue. Throughout more than six visits in 2018, each initiated by Heffelfinger, the lesion continued to grow and worsen. In each instance, Dr. Shen prescribed palliative treatment but failed to refer Heffelfinger for specialist care, perform an oral cancer screening or biopsy for diagnosis of the lesion, nor schedule Heffelfinger for follow-up visits.
In December of 2018, Dr. Shen’s then-assistant, Dora Comstock, looked for the first time at Heffelfinger’s sore, and was immediately alarmed. When she raised her concern with Dr. Shen, Dr. Shen responded in a hostile manner and told
Comstock to stay silent. Nevertheless, Comstock instructed Heffelfinger to immediately go to an oral surgeon. Heffelfinger visited an oral surgeon, Niral Parikh, DDS, on December 28, 2018, who immediately recognized the lesion
as possible squamous cell carcinoma, and referred Heffelfinger for a biopsy, which confirmed the cancer diagnosis.
Heffelfinger underwent treatment for squamous cell carcinoma from January thru June of 2019. The resulting extensive, invasive treatment caused permanent injury to Heffelfinger. Heffelfinger underwent radiation and chemotherapy, and required dissection of her neck to remove the left side of her tongue and several lymph nodes. The surgery also required a skin and blood vessel graft, taken from Heffelfinger’s arm, which restored some functionality to her tongue. Although Heffelfinger was able to achieve remission, she suffered permanent injury including speech deficits, lymphedema, scarring, and a continued risk of recurrence.
Following a three-day trial, the jury returned a verdict in favor of Heffelfinger in the total amount of $11 million. Specifically, the jury found Dr. Shen negligent and awarded Heffelfinger $3 million in compensatory damages; the jury also found Dr. Shen’s reckless conduct warranted $8 million in punitive damages. Shen appealed.
The Superior Court of Pennsylvania stated in its July 21, 2025 Opinion: “Upon review, we find that the trial court properly exercised its discretion in concluding that the jury’s verdict was not against the weight of the evidence. See trial court opinion, 8/23/24 at 15-17. “[T]he trier of fact while passing upon the credibility of witnesses and the weight of the evidence produced, is free to believe all, part or none of the evidence.” Kaur v. Singh, 259 A.3d 505, 509 (Pa.Super. 2021) (citation omitted). Here, the jury heard testimony from a number of witnesses at trial, including Dr. Shen, Appellee, and at least three different expert witnesses. The jury clearly found the testimony presented by Appellee credible and elected not to believe Dr. Shen’s version of the events. Upon review, we discern no abuse of the trial court’s discretion. The jury’s verdict bears a reasonable resemblance to the proven damages, and we are precluded from reweighing the evidence and substituting our judgment for that of the factfinder.”
Source Heffelfinger v. Shen, DDS, 2025 PA Super 153.
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