Friday, December 4, 2009

Medical Negligence Occurring In Dentistry

Making a trip down to the dentist is one that can prove to be quite an uncomfortable experience for many of us. After all, it is not a pleasant idea to have the inside of your mouth probed and examined. Nonetheless, it is an essential part of our health regime and it is important that we should be able to trust the health professionals in charge of taking care of us.

In the majority of the cases, the dentists offer an excellent level of service to their patients. However, in some rare cases, mistakes do happen and this unfortunately leads to some form of injury to the patient. It is important to not confuse an unfortunate side effect of the treatment and the actual negligence on the part of the dentist. Some cases are very clear cut. For instance if your dentist was negligent in fitting your crown properly. As a result you are now experiencing trouble eating. It is possible that your dentist failed to spot a serious dental disease and now you are experiencing persistent pain. You may have even suffered permanent damage to your teeth.

What are the types of dental negligence?

There are many different ways a dentist can be negligent. Below are some of the more common mistakes made by dentists:

Misdiagnosis by dentists

This is when the dentist fails to recognise a serious problem which results in the patient receiving inadequate treatment for their dental problem. If the patient suffers more pain and hardship as a result of the misdiagnosis, the patient may be entitled to compensation

Carelessness in procedure

It is the responsibility of the dentist to perform the dental procedure to a high standard, up-keeping the patient's personal safety at all times. This is essential as great trust is placed in the dentist carrying out the procedure. However, the dentist may be careless during the procedure and end up causing personal injury to the patient. This can give rise to a clinical negligence claim.

Inadequate treatment by dentists

The patient is entitled to receive a high standard of treatment for their dental problems. In some cases, the dentist fails in this duty, and as a consequence the patient suffers personal injury. In order to make a clinical negligence claim, the patient will have to prove that another dentist in the same professional capacity would not have made the same error in judgement.

Drug usage by dentists

Providing the patient with the wrong dosage of drug can have catastrophic consequences for the patient. Similarly, failing to make note of the patient's allergy by not examining the forms properly is another serious error sometimes made by dentists. These are serious errors that can give rise to a compensation claim.

If you have personally suffered undergoing a dental procedure, and wish to make a claim, our solicitors should be able to help you. You may feel that your dentist has provided you with substandard care or caused a dental accident which resulted in you suffering personal injury. Whatever the reason may be, our specialist solicitors will be able to advise you.

Please note that in order for dental claims to be successful, it must be proven that the same treatment would not have been provided by a reasonable and competent member of the dental professional. Our specialist solicitors provide a sympathetic and friendly service, and will ensure that you have the best chance available in pursuing your compensation claim for dental injury.

Sources: I. Videos Gone Viral, II. The Car Junky, III. The Tech Fanatic

Comments

Post a Comment

Laws and Order © Layout By Hugo Meira.

TOPO