Can You Sue A Dentist For Malpractice?

Even routine dental work can lead to discomfort, pain, or bleeding. For instance, deep cleaning often ends up causing gum bleeding for the patient.

But what if the dental treatment results in a more serious injury? 

Can you sue a dentist for malpractice is a common question we get, and while the simple answer is yes, not every unfavorable outcome is a valid medical or dental malpractice claim. 

So, what are some common forms of medical malpractice related to dental work and how can you prove that dental malpractice occurred?

What is dental malpractice?

We already clarified can you sue a dentist for malpractice, but here’s just a little bit more info. Suing a dentist or a dental technician for malpractice is referred to as dental malpractice. It takes place when a dental professional provides you with medical treatment that falls below accepted professional standards of care.

If you believe that this happened to you and the dentist’s negligence has caused you harm, you may recover compensation for any medical costs and the pain and suffering you endured if you can prove that this event resulted in an injury or an illness.

Types of dental malpractice

There are various types of dental malpractice, with the most frequent ones being:

• Missed or late diagnosis
• Inadequate care
• Inappropriate care, such as removing a wrong tooth
• Delayed treatment
• Failure to refer to other specialists
• Providing the wrong treatment

Common reasons to sue a dentist for malpractice in Florida

Here are some common examples of dental malpractice in the Sunshine State:

1. Issues stemming from tooth extractions

Plenty of issues can develop after shoddy tooth extractions. Patients may suffer from an infection, sinus perforation, or oral nerve damage, to name just a few. 

All these issues are serious. Nerve damage, for example, can be permanent and may lead to issues like numbness or complete loss of taste. Infections, on the other hand, can lead to hospitalizations, and if not treated immediately, even result in death. 

Sinus perforation can also have tricky effects. This type of injury occurs when the mouth and the sinus are perforated (and thus connected) during the removal of a tooth. Not only can this create a great deal of discomfort due to the drainage of fluid from the mouth to the nose, but it can also give rise to a nasty sinus infection. 

2. Complications from endodontic procedures

Without proper precautions and aftercare, endodontic procedures can lead to various complications, from nerve and sinus perforation to air embolisms and infections. 

Infections can be particularly dangerous during these procedures as they can lead to permanent brain damage because of brain abscesses. 

3. Dental implant complications

Dental implant communication typically involves losing the implant. In some cases, though, the result of a poor treatment plan can be a life-threatening infection. 

4. Crown or bridge treatment complications

Crown and bridge treatments are generally very safe. However, an ineffective patient plan can lead to serious complications such as infections, poor occlusion, overhanging restorations, or open margins. Since some of these may require extensive restoration procedures, they present valid grounds for a malpractice claim. 

5. Orthodontic treatment complications

Orthodontic treatments can lead to patients losing their teeth if any root resorption takes place, which can lead to the body breaking down and absorbing the tissues around the afflicted teeth. There are also other difficulties such as allergic reactions, gum disease, soft tissue injuries, or temporomandibular joint injuries. 

6. Periodontal disease

Many people wonder can you sue a dentist for malpractice due to periodontal disease. The answer is a resounding yes.

Periodontal disease is an infection of bones or tissues in the mouth. Due to lack of care, patients can lose teeth and develop other severe conditions, like heart attacks or strokes. 

If a dental professional fails to identify, diagnose, and treat this condition, they are liable for the damages. 

7. Anesthesia-related complications

Dentists often administer anesthesia during procedures. There are complications associated with all types of anesthesia, including general anesthesia, sedation, or local. Plenty of dental malpractice lawsuits start because of anesthesia-related issues such as allergic reactions, nerve damage, breathing problems, coma, and in the worst-case scenario, a deadly malignant hyperthermia.

8. Adverse drug reactions

Before prescribing any medication, a dentist must evaluate the patient’s history to determine whether they will develop an adverse reaction to the drug. While allergic reactions are often mild, in some cases they result in exacerbation of other chronic issues or fatalities. 

How to prove dental malpractice

If you’ve sustained injuries and other monetary damages because of a dental professional’s negligence, you can file a medical malpractice suit to recover compensation. 

Still, proving negligence isn’t easy. You must demonstrate the following:

• Duty of care

Just like other medical professionals, dentists have a duty of care to patients to prevent them from suffering harm. Proving a dentist had this duty requires you to illustrate that a doctor-patient relationship was established. You can do this by producing documentation like patient records or receipts. 

• Failure to meet the standard of care

You also need to prove that the dentist breached their duty of care by providing a substandard level of care. In this context, the standard of care is the degree of care a similarly skilled dentist would exercise under particular circumstances.

• Causation

For a valid malpractice claim, there also needs to be a direct correlation between the negligent practice and your injuries. A straightforward way to figure this out is to consider whether you would have developed the injury if the breach of duty hadn’t transpired. You may need a medical expert to determine whether this is the case.

• Damages

In addition to proving correlation, you also need to demonstrate that the negligence caused damages. You can recover economic damages such as medical expenses, lost wages from missing work, lost earning capacity, and compensation for ongoing care. 

You may also be able to recover non-economic damages, such as awards for pain and suffering or emotional anguish. 

Start building a case now

Dental malpractice is identical to a regular malpractice case, which means it’s equally as complex. Due to the technical nature of the claim, to ensure the best possible outcome, you should hire an attorney specializing in medical malpractice instead of a regular personal injury practitioner.

Sure, a personal injury attorney may occasionally take on a malpractice case, but they’re not experts in the field.

Compare that to Sowell Chakour, a law firm specializing strictly in medical malpractice, where our leading attorney also used to have a successful career as a surgeon. Our deep expertise in the field allows us to bring an extra level of expertise to your case, which ultimately may help you recover the compensation you’re entitled to.

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Note: 

The information in this blog post is for reference only and not legal advice. As such, you should not make legal decisions based on the information in this blog post. Moreover, there is no lawyer-client relationship resulting from this blog post, nor should any such relationship be implied. If you need legal counsel, please consult a lawyer licensed to practice in your jurisdiction.