What is Dental Negligence?
There has been a very steady increase in the amount of dental negligence initiated by patients who have suffered after dental surgery or a dental procedure. There are instances where dental negligence claims are brought to the District Court, and the damage is relatively minimal. However, more and more medical negligence, dental negligence, and personal injury actions are being taken in the Circuit Court or, in some instances, the High Court.
Particular examples of dental negligence
- Nerve damage: Anaesthesia may not work or may damage the nerve. Local injections into the nerve can result in long-term or permanent numbness.
- Cavity filling: A filling may be carried out incorrectly, leading to infection or requiring a crown to be placed over a tooth.
- Root canal work: A dentist may not find or clean out all roots before applying a crown. In these circumstances, periodontal disease can persist, leading ultimately to tooth removal and replacement with a bridge or an artificial tooth.
- Crowns/Veneers: If a crown or veneer doesn’t match the bite surface of the original tooth, this can lead to chronic dental pain.
- Cosmetic dentistry errors cover a wide variety of treatments and orthodontic care.
As with all dental procedures, sometimes adverse outcomes occur in dental treatment for non-negligent reasons. For a case of dental negligence to be proven, causation and error on the part of the dental practitioner must be established. There are many different types of dental procedures, so your specific dental issue may not be mentioned above. Dental Claims can result from procedures such as deficient tooth enamel filing, poor extraction, wrong tooth extraction, substandard root canal, poorly fitted veneers, and dentures. If you doubt the procedure and its results, you should seek a second opinion from another qualified dentist, dental surgeon, or orthodontist as soon as possible.
The claim process
1. Consult our dental negligence solicitor
It is advisable for you to speak to an experienced dental negligence solicitor as soon as possible if you believe that you were not provided with an adequate or appropriate level of medical care, which resulted in you sustaining an injury or illness.
2. We obtain your medical records
After the consultation with your dental negligence solicitor, he/she will request access to your medical records and engage an independent medical expert to assess your records. The purpose of engaging an independent expert is to establish whether there was any negligence on the part of the medical professional.
3. The medical negligence litigation process
Where the independent medical expert is of the professional opinion that medical negligence did occur, upon your instructions, your dental negligence solicitor will commence the process of issuing legal proceedings in Court against the medical professional and/or hospital.
Statute of Limitation
The legal time limit to make a medical negligence claim is two years from the date of injury or date of knowledge that the injury or illness resulted from medical negligence. For children/minors, the time limit expires two years after their 18th birthday. You may contact a dental negligence solicitor to discuss your case to advise of the Statute of Limitations applicable to your case.
