Dental negligence occurs when a healthcare professional has failed to provide reasonable dental care which has resulted in harm or injury. Regardless of whether you see an NHS or private dentist, if you have suffered harm as a result of negligent dental treatment you may be able to make a negligence claim for compensation against them.
Making a complaint
If you believe that you may have been subjected to negligent dental treatment, often the most sensible starting point will be to make a formal complaint to the dentist in the first instance. This can be very helpful in a number of ways.
It is possible that the dentist may make admissions within their response to your complaint. In addition, complaints correspondence can be very useful in determining whether there could be a viable legal claim.
The dental practice will most likely have a complaint process you can follow, and once your complaint has been submitted, the practice must investigate and respond to your concerns.
Bringing a dental negligence claim – What must be proved?
In order to succeed in a claim for dental negligence, it is necessary to prove both breach of duty and causation.
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Breach of duty
As with any medical negligence claim, it must be provided that the healthcare professional breached their duty of care. Common examples of dental negligence include:
- Delay in diagnosis (such as of oral cancer or periodontal gum disease)
- Incorrect diagnosis
- Incorrect treatment
- Negligent treatment (such as wrongful extracting of teeth or damaging other teeth in the process)
- Cosmetic dentistry errors
- Failed orthodontic treatment
- Failure of dental implants
- Substandard root canal treatment
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Causation
It must also be proved that the negligent treatment caused you harm or injury.
Bringing a dental negligence claim – What evidence will be required?
As part of investigations into a dental negligence claim, it will be necessary to obtain your dental records as well as a witness statement from you, and any other factual evidence that might be relevant.
An independent dental expert would then be instructed to prepare a report.
Independent dental experts are vital to any dental negligence claim. The expert will be required to carefully consider all of the evidence before confirming whether, on a balance of probabilities, the care provided to you by your dentist fell below the standard to be expected of a reasonable competent body of dental practitioners.
It may then be necessary to obtain further expert evidence to consider whether the failures in care resulted in avoidable injury to you.
Each independent expert’s duty is to the Court, regardless of whether they are instructed by a Claimant or Defendant.
How long do I have to bring a claim?
It is important to be aware that there are time limits to bring a dental negligence claim. You have three years from the date you were injured or the date you first realised you suffered an injury due to potential dental negligence to bring the claim. If you are making a claim for a child, the three-year time limit will begin to run from their 18th birthday.
The three-year time period can come around very quickly, especially if you are dealing with the physical and psychological effects of the negligence. It is therefore very important to seek legal advice as soon as you are able to as if you are outside of the three-year time period you will not be able to pursue the claim.
How long will a dental negligence claim take?
It is difficult to advise how long a claim will take as no two cases are the same. The timings are affected by the severity and/or complexity of the negligence and whether or not the defendant admits liability.
Due to the nature of these types of claims, the timescales are often lengthy and most take a number of years to conclude.
What can I claim for?
If your claim is successful, the remedy is compensation. Compensation is divided into two types of damages:
- General damages – compensation for pain, suffering and loss of amenity. The amount will depend on the seriousness and duration of the injury, and how the injury affects you in your daily life.
- Special damages – compensation to cover the financial consequences of your injury. This includes the costs of any remedial treatment required, loss of earnings, travel expenses and any other financial losses you have suffered as a result of the injury caused by substandard treatment.
The aim of compensation is to try so far as possible to put you in the position you would have been in had you not received negligent treatment. It may also be possible to obtain an apology.
Will bringing a dental negligence claim affect my ongoing treatment?
This is a common and understandable concern for most patients. You should not be treated any differently because you are bringing a legal claim. Healthcare professionals do not have the right to refuse treating you just because you are bringing a legal claim.
In reality, you may wish to be seen by another dental professional or change practice if you have lost confidence in the dentist or dental surgery as a result of what has happened.
Comment
It is well known how difficult it can be in recent times to even get registered with a dental practice. When you do receive dental treatment, you are entitled to reasonable treatment that is carried out correctly.
The consequences of negligent dental treatment cannot be understated. It can cause great pain and suffering, difficulties eating, psychological issues and require extensive remedial treatment to name a few.
How can we help?
Georgina Sheppard is Trainee Solicitor in our Medical Negligence team, which has been ranked in tier one by the independently researched publication, The Legal 500.
At Nelsons, we have an experienced team of solicitors across our Derby, Leicester and Nottingham offices, who are always happy to discuss the circumstances of your claim and advise you on whether you are likely to be successful.
Please call 0800 024 1976 or contact us via our online form for more information.
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