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The Dental Negligence Claims Process

The Leading Specialist Dental Negligence Solicitors in the UK

If you’re considering starting a dental claim against a negligent dentist, you may be wondering what the dental negligence claims process is. Every situation is different, which means that the process may differ slightly depending on the details of your claim.

However, at the Dental Law Partnership, we have a set process that we usually follow, which we’ve finely honed over the years. Since our inception in 2000, we’ve gone from strength to strength, helping many people to sue their dentist for malpractice since then.

If you’ve suffered from negligent treatment in England and Wales and you’re interested in suing your dentist, our team of expert lawyers will be able to help. If you’d like to speak to our legal team, fill in our online enquiry form and we’ll get in touch as soon as possible.

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What are the main reasons for starting a dental negligence claim?

There are many reasons why somebody might want to start a dental negligence compensation claim. If you have suffered from negligent dental treatment, there is a likelihood that you’ll have more than one thing to claim for, although every situation is unique to the individual.

Some of the most common reasons that people have for making a claim against their dentist include:

Misdiagnosis or late diagnosis of a serious dental condition which results in you suffering from pain or injury – . If your dentist misdiagnoses a condition or diagnoses it too late, you could be able to make a claim. Misdiagnosis can be particularly harmful, as it may end up causing avoidable injuries if the wrong treatment is carried out.
Complete failure to diagnose a serious dental condition resulting in injury, pain or suffering – This form of negligence links in with the previous point. If your dentist completely fails to diagnose an issue or doesn’t tell you about it, it can have serious consequences – particularly if you have a condition like gum disease or oral cancer.
Injury caused by poorly performed dental procedures – If a dental procedure is carried out poorly, you may end up with a dental injury. For example – if your dentist exerts too much pressure when extracting a tooth, you could end up with fractured teeth or a fractured jaw.
Failure to treat a dental issue – If your dentist diagnoses a dental condition but fails to treat it correctly (or doesn’t attempt to treat it at all), you may be able to make a claim. This also includes situations in which your dentist recommends an inappropriate treatment path or fails to examine your oral health correctly.
Failure to obtain patient consent – When carrying out work on your teeth, your dentist has a duty of care to ensure they obtain informed consent for any procedures before carrying them out. They have to inform you of any risks or side effects that may occur, as well as suggesting other treatments that may be less harmful. Your dentist also has a duty of care to ensure you have the capacity to consent, as it must be obtained voluntarily.

Financial loss from having to pay to correct a mistake made by a dental professional – If incorrect treatment is carried out, or your dentist makes a mistake when working on your teeth, you may have to pay future treatment costs to fix the mistake. If you make a complaint, you may be able to get corrective treatment carried out by the dentist who carried out the incorrect treatment in the first place. However, this isn’t a given, so you may have to pay for remedial work to be carried out.
Loss of earnings suffered if you are unable to work as a result of dental negligence – If you suffer from serious physical injuries during routine treatment, you may have to take time off work to recover. You may also need to travel further for remedial treatment if you don’t want to visit the same dentist, leading to additional costs. This is something you can claim for through the Dental Law Partnership.
Physical trauma suffered as a result of dental negligence – Depending on the severity of your injury, you may have physical trauma as a result of poor dental treatment. The term trauma refers to any injury that is classed as being serious or life-threatening – things such as avoidable nerve damage and jaw fractures would come under this category.
Psychological trauma suffered as a result of dental negligence – Many people have a fear of the dentist as it is. If you suffer from dental negligence, this could be classed as a traumatic experience, which may lead to psychological issues as a result.

If you’re a dental negligence victim, your situation will usually fit into one of these categories. However, every case is different, so your circumstances may differ slightly from the categories listed here.

If you’ve suffered from dental negligence and you’d like to find out whether your situation is something you can claim for, contact our helpful team and we’ll advise you accordingly.

How do I sue a dentist for negligence?

If you think that you may have been a victim of dental negligence, the first thing you should do is contact a specialist dental law solicitor. They will discuss your experience and advise you on whether you have a legitimate claim.

There are several things your legal team will take into account when making a decision as to whether we can accept your dental negligence claim:

Your individual circumstances
The nature of your complaint and the reported negligence of your dentist
The severity of the injury, pain or suffering you have experienced as a result of the poor dental care you may have received
Any additional costs you may have incurred as a direct result of negligence

However, this is not an exhaustive list and we judge each case on its individual merits.

If you’d like to find out whether your situation is something you can claim for, our expert team will be happy to help with your enquiry.

See if you have a case for dental negligence:

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or call us free on: 0800 0853 823

How does the Dental Law process work?

As previously stated, every situation is different and the case proceedings will depend largely on your own individual circumstances.

However, there is a general claims process we usually follow, which may give you more of an idea of what to expect when you seek legal advice from the Dental Law Partnership.

The process usually takes the following steps:

When you first get in touch with the Dental Law Partnership, a member of our experienced team will go through a questionnaire with you and take down your details. This initial phone call will be used to decide whether or not your case is something we can accept.
Once your claim has been accepted, you’ll need to sign some paperwork, including our no-win, no-fee conditional fee agreement. Your information will then be passed on to one of our paralegals and we’ll collect your dental records so that we can establish a timeline for your case. Legally, your dentist has to keep your dental records for a minimum of two years.
Our team of in-house dento-legal advisors will work through the details of your case and assess your claim, making a decision as to whether it’s strong enough to pursue.
If we decide that you have a strong claim, your case will be allocated to one of our expert solicitors. Your dental negligence solicitor will draft a letter of claim, which will then be submitted to the defendant. The defendant has four months to respond to the letter of claim. Once they have responded, your specialist solicitor will then start to negotiate with the defendant (or their representative) to settle your claim.
In most situations, your case will be resolved during the negotiations period, which means you won’t need to go to court to settle your claim. However, if negotiations fail, the case may need to enter court proceedings . If this happens, your specialist solicitor will go through the next steps with you.

We will always endeavour to achieve a negotiated settlement of your dental negligence claim. The majority of claims are resolved at a relatively early stage and without the need to commence court proceedings. However, on occasion a dentist may strongly resist a claim, or additional information may come to light which affects the claim.

Because of this, sometimes it is necessary to commence court proceedings in order to resolve the claim.

It doesn’t matter whether your negligent treatment took place at an NHS surgery or a private dental surgery, as we can start dental claims regardless of the setting.

We can’t advise on how long your claim will take without knowing your individual circumstances, as this is something that is different for every case. You also need to be aware that there is a strict three-year time limit for any dental negligence claims from the date the negligence occurred, or from the date you were first made aware of the problem, so it’s important to contact us as soon as possible.

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Do you have a valid dental negligence claim?

It can be difficult to work out whether you have a valid dental negligence claim at first. If you think you may have suffered due to avoidable errors during dental treatment, you may be entitled to dental negligence compensation

The first thing you need to do is discuss your case with a member of our team, which is made up of skilled solicitors and dentists. This is one of the things that makes the Dental Law Partnership unique, as we have a wealth of experience in both sectors.

We will then be able to review your case and determine whether you are able to proceed with a dental negligence claim. There is a strict time limit of three years (from when the negligence occurred or the date when you first found out you’d received negligent treatment) to open a case against your dentist, so it’s important to act fast.

Start your claim today by requesting a callback with our expert team.

How much compensation could I expect to receive from a dental negligence claim?

The amount of compensation that you could receive for a successful dental negligence claim will depend on the situation itself, so we can’t give a definitive figure. However, rest assured that we will do everything we can to get justice for the negligent treatment you’ve undergone.

We’ll keep you updated every step of the way, and we promise to be as transparent as possible throughout the process.

The level of compensation awarded will depend on a number of factors, which include:

The nature of the claim is an important factor in any dental negligence case. Essentially, this refers to the type of negligence you are claiming for. For example, things like misdiagnosis, carelessness or poor technique by the dental professional are often present within dental negligence cases.
The severity and longevity of the injury, pain and suffering experienced by the claimant, as a result of the dentist’s action or inaction. If you have been permanently harmed during clinical negligence, you may be entitled to more compensation.
The extent to which corrective treatment is/was required to remedy the damage caused by the negligence you’ve endured, as well as any extra costs incurred for additional treatment.
Any other costs you’ve incurred as a result of negligence. This can include things such as travel costs (if you’ve had to travel for your claim or for corrective treatment), as well as the cost of future treatment costs if necessary.

Once your claim has been fully assessed by our expert team, they will be in a better position to advise you about the amount of compensation you are likely to receive. This will usually be based on our experience of previous cases with similar conditions. However, if the case goes to trial, the judge is the person who decides on the compensation amount, so it’s best to treat this advice as a guideline.

If you’d like to see how much our previous clients have been awarded in other successful Dental Law claims, our client stories page may be able to give you an idea of the amount of dental compensation you could claim.

Should I stop dental treatment whilst my case is still ongoing?

If you have an ongoing negligence claim, it is important that you keep going to the dentist for regular check-ups and dental care. You should always have treatment that is recommended by your dentist.

If you are going to remove implants, crowns, veneers or bridges that you are complaining about then we recommend that you discuss this with your solicitor first. Sometimes removing these restorations from your mouth can remove evidence that supports your claim.

You may also be considering changing your dentist due to the negligent behaviour of your current dentist. This may be a good idea if you have further treatment that needs carrying out, but you don’t want to use the same dentist. There is a shortage of NHS dentists at the moment, so NHS patients may find it difficult to obtain a new one.

However, NHS England may be able to help you to find a new NHS dentist if you are struggling to find one. If you’re a private patient looking for a new private dentist, the process of changing your dentist should be easier.

At the Dental Law Partnership, we can advise you on the best ways to preserve evidence for your legal claim, whether you’re having further treatment or not.

We ask you to keep us updated about any dental treatment you have during your case, and if you have any questions or concerns you can always contact us – please contact us to keep us informed throughout.

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Our Credentials

We’re always proud to be recognised for the work that we do for our clients – our credentials show just how good our team is.

We have been described by the Legal 500 as a ‘market leader in dental claims’. The Legal 500 is a legal catalogue that provides a client guide to the best law services around the world. They analyse and assess global law firms, revising their guide every year with the latest updates.

We’ve also been granted the Lexcel Mark. The Lexcel Mark is a legal practice quality mark for client care, compliance and practice management. It’s a specialist quality mark awarded to legal firms that set high standards for their work, showing that the Dental Law Partnership is a good law firm to use for your dental negligence claim.

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Start your dental negligence claim with the Dental Law Partnership today

If you believe you may have suffered from dental negligence and you’d like to start the claims process, the Dental Law Partnership should be your first choice.

It can be difficult to know where to start when you want to go through the dental negligence claims process, but we’re here to help you every step of the way. As the UK’s leading legal dental partnership, we’re well versed in matters of the law, able to get you the justice you deserve.

If you’re ready to start your claim, or feel that you need a little more advice first, our helpful team will be happy to help.

Just call us on 0808 301 8732 or fill in our online application form, and we’ll get the dental negligence claims process started.

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Dental negligence specialist

Dedicated team of dentists

Take on cases others won't

Leading Dental Negligence solicitors

Testimonials

Mr M North West – 17/01/2020

“All that remains is for me to thank you for your kind words, for your continued efforts, for providing complete transparency and clarity when required, and also for your patience. I wish you nothing but the best going forwards.”

Mr S, East Yorkshire – 20/12/2019

I just wanted to say a big thank you to you, and your colleagues at Dental Law, for all your hard work in pursuing my claim. I was very pleased with the outcome. Every aspect of the case was handled with the upmost professionalism and clear advice throughout. The advice on liability and quantum was right on the mark. I would not hesitate in recommending Dental Law.

Mrs M, South East – 12/12/2019

“I would highly recommend the DLP to others seeking help with dental negligence, for providing excellent advice and clear communication throughout the process, and from a personal point of view making what felt like a daunting prospect at the outset straightforward to understand.”

Client Stories

Compensation Received : £9,000

Analysis of his dental records revealed that Dr H had consistently failed to diagnose and treat tooth decay between 2015 and 2016. All this led to the problems Mr M experienced and to him losing his tooth in the future.

Compensation Received: £10,000

Analysis of his dental records revealed that the dentist had consistently failed to spot and treat decay that was clearly visible in X-rays. This led to years of pain and avoidable treatment and the extraction of his tooth.

Compensation received: £8,000

Analysis of her dental records revealed that Ms C’s dentist had failed to use reasonable skill and care during the root canal treatments. This led to a severe infection and eventually led to the extraction of her tooth and the future loss of her other tooth

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