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Can I Sue My Dentist?

Have you suffered from dental negligence and found yourself wondering ‘Can I sue my dentist?’

If you have, you might be able to claim compensation for your injury. It doesn’t matter whether the negligence occurred at an NHS or private dental surgery – so long as the negligent treatment took place in England or Wales.

If you’ve been let down by a dental professional that you trusted to deliver a good standard of care and you have suffered as a result, a successful claim can help you get the compensation that you deserve.

At the Dental Law Partnership, we’re a specialist firm of dental negligence solicitors, providing high quality legal representation for people who have suffered as a victim of negligence. Our experienced team is made up of both dentists and solicitors, making us experts at what we do.

If you think you have a valid claim for dental negligence, get in touch and we’ll see how we can help.

See if you have a case for dental negligence:

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Who are the Dental Law Partnership?

The Dental Law Partnership is a specialist legal firm focusing on dental negligence. We were founded in August 2000 and since then, we’ve steadily grown to become market leaders in the field.

Our team is made up of both lawyers and dentists, making us stand apart from other dental negligence firms in the industry.

We work primarily on a conditional fee agreement basis, offering no-win, no-fee claims for every case taken on. This means that you won’t need to pay anything if your claim is not successful.

No Win No Fee Dental Negligence Compensation Claims

Why should you choose the Dental Law Partnership to sue your dentist?

At the Dental Law Partnership, we’re immensely proud of the thousands of clients we have represented in their dental negligence claims.

We’ve got an outstanding record when it comes to dental claims which makes it more likely that we’ll be able to secure the justice you deserve.

Here are some of the reasons you should choose the Dental Law Partnership for your dental malpractice claim:

If you’d like to find out more about how the Dental Law Partnership can help you, our friendly team will be happy to help.

What happens during the claims process?

Before deciding to pursue a claim with the Dental Law Partnership, you may want to find out what the claims process involves.

It’s important to be as informed as possible when it comes to taking legal action. Getting as much legal advice as you can should help you to make the right decision for your circumstances.

The claims process typically includes the following steps:

  1. When we first speak to you, a member of our experienced team will go through a questionnaire with you and take down your details. We will then assess whether we can accept your claim.
  2. Once accepted and your no-win no fee agreement has been signed, your information will be passed to one of our paralegals. All your dental records will be collected to establish a timeline for your case.
  3. Our team of in-house dental advisors will work through the chronology of your case and assess your claim.
  4. If your case is considered to be strong enough, it will be allocated to a dental solicitor, who will draft a letter of claim to be submitted to the defendant. The defendant has four months to respond. Your solicitor will then start negotiations with the defendant (or their representative) to settle your claim.
  5. The likelihood is that your case will be resolved during negotiations, avoiding the need to go to court to settle the case. However, sometimes a court date is necessary. If this happens, you will be advised on the next steps by your assigned dental solicitor.

As every situation is different, we’re unable to advise you on exactly how long the process will take. However, you’ll be kept updated about your case throughout, with expert legal advice provided whenever needed.

In order for your claim to be successful, you will need to provide evidence that the dentist who treated you was negligent or made avoidable mistakes, causing you further injury, pain or suffering. This can also include financial and psychological harm.

We can help you gather that evidence and make your claim to seek justice for the negligence you experienced. Call us on 0808 301 8732 to find out more.

What are the main reasons to sue your dentist?

‘Can I sue my dentist?’ is one of the most common questions we hear, so we’ve compiled together information on some of the most common reasons why people decide to claim for dental negligence.

The most common reasons you might consider making a claim against your dentist include:

However, if your situation isn’t listed here, that doesn’t mean it’s something we can’t help with.

If you can’t find the information that you’re looking for here, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team, who will be happy to help.

Request a callback or call us on 0808 256 8989 to find out more.

Poorly carried out treatment

If you’ve had poor dental treatment carried out on your teeth, it might be possible for you to bring a claim against your dentist. This will depend on the situation itself – evidence of negligence resulting in an avoidable injury will usually need to be provided.

For example, if your dentist made an avoidable mistake during a procedure, resulting in further dental issues, you might have a successful dental malpractice claim. Another situation in which you might be able to make a dental claim is if your dentist hasn’t fixed the original issue they set out to treat.

If your dentist performed the relevant procedure or treatment to a good standard, but it failed for another reason (for example, if you didn’t follow the aftercare instructions), it’s unlikely that you would be able to claim for dental negligence.

If you’re unsure about whether your situation would be classed as poor treatment, fill in our contact form and we’ll assess the situation for you. 

Tooth fractures

If your dentist has broken a tooth whilst delivering treatment and it was an avoidable error, you might be eligible to make a compensation claim. 

Tooth fractures occasionally occur during extractions. Whilst tooth fractures can sometimes be relatively easy to manage, more serious cases can occur, which can lead to long-term damage in the future.

The most common tooth fractures are:

  • Alveolar fractures
  • Enamel fractures
  • Enamel-dentine fractures
  • Root fractures
  • Uncomplicated crown fractures

If a fracture happens, your dentist may be able to fix it themselves. If they fail to resolve the issue correctly, you may be eligible for compensation.

Sometimes, especially during procedures like an extraction, a dentist might use excessive force, which can result in other teeth being damaged or broken. In these situations your dentist may be considered negligent, as an avoidable injury occurred due to a lack of reasonable care.

Badly placed fillings

If your dentist placed one or more fillings to a poor standard, you could have a claim for dental negligence compensation.

Other mistakes that could be classed as negligence include filling the wrong tooth and failing to remove decay before placing a filling. In these situations, you might be able to claim compensation for what has happened.

It’s normal for your teeth to feel slightly sensitive after you’ve had a filling fitted. However, if the problem doesn’t go away after a while or the pain starts to get worse, it could be a sign of a further issue. Infections can sometimes occur if the area wasn’t cleaned correctly before the treatment started.

In some situations, fillings may fall out after being fitted, however this isn’t always a sign of negligence.

If you’re unsure about whether you can sue your dentist for negligence, contact the Dental Law Partnership and we’ll advise you accordingly.

Root canal treatments

If you’ve had a root canal treatment that has failed, gotten infected or has caused you further dental issues, you might be able to claim for financial compensation.

Root canal treatment is often carried out if you suffer from tooth decay – usually when fillings aren’t a viable option. You may also be able to open a legal case if the dentist didn’t offer the appropriate advice or treatment.

Your dentist has a duty of care to inform you of anything that might affect your treatment. This includes advising you of the any potential risks a treatment carries, as well as making you aware of any aftercare that may be required after work has been carried out.

Not all root canals fail or have further problems due to negligence or avoidable mistakes made by your dentist. However, if mistakes have been made, you might be able to claim dental negligence compensation.

This could give you the freedom to pay for further dental treatment that may be required, as well as covering your avoidable pain and suffering.

Poorly fitted crowns

A crown is a ‘cap’ that fits over the base of your tooth, making it stronger, as well as improving the appearance and alignment of the tooth itself.

If you’ve had a crown fitted that was poorly done and you believe that this is due to the negligence of your dentist, you might be able to make a compensation claim.

Making a dental negligence claim for a bad crown could mean that you receive compensation for the injury caused. Whilst dental negligence compensation won’t remove the pain you’ve been through, they can help you get restorative treatment and start to move forward from what can be an upsetting experience.

Wrong tooth extraction

If your dentist has mistakenly extracted the wrong tooth, this is definitely a negligent act and you may be able to claim compensation for this.

Tooth extraction is a fairly common dental procedure and is usually risk-free. Nevertheless, wrong tooth extractions do happen on occasion – as they’re irreversible, they’re considered to be very serious.

If the wrong tooth has been extracted (or if a tooth has been extracted when one shouldn’t have been taken out at all), it’s usually fairly obvious that it’s the fault of your dentist. As such, the likelihood is that you will be able to claim dental negligence compensation if you’ve suffered from wrong tooth extraction.

To find out if you can make a claim, get in touch with our expert team for further information, so that we can conduct a free claim assessment.

Can I sue my dentist for pain and suffering?

If you make a successful dental negligence claim, you could be awarded compensation for the pain and suffering that you experienced as a result of the negligent treatment.

Every situation is different and some pain can be normal after dental work has been carried out on your teeth. If you find yourself in constant pain or it lingers after the treatment, you may have a valid claim for dental malpractice.

You might also experience other forms of discomfort or dental pain. For example, if one of your nerves has been damaged during a routine treatment, you may have difficulties eating, chewing and speaking. Nerve damage can often be permanent, making it a particularly serious form of negligence if it occurs.

Another part of your claim will be for out of pocket expenses you have incurred as a result of malpractice, such as further dental treatment to correct the problem caused by your dentist’s negligence, loss of earnings and so on.

In some cases you may also be able to sue your dentist for financial and psychological trauma – although these aspects will usually be linked to physical dental pain and injury as well.

To find out whether your situation is something we can open a case for, contact the Dental Law Partnership today and we’ll work things out for you.

Find out if you’re eligible to claim

 

Ready to sue your dentist? The Dental Law Partnership is here to help

If you’ve recently asked yourself the question ‘Can I sue my dentist?’, you may have a case for dental negligence. Every situation is different and there are a multitude of things you can claim for.

At the Dental Law Partnership, we’re experts at what we do. We’ve worked with thousands of people to secure justice since our inception in August 2000. We offer a transparent and fair service, treating every case individually based on its own merits.

We’ve received positive feedback and testimonials from clients across England and Wales, showing just how fantastic our legal services are. If you’d like to see how much compensation you could potentially receive, our case studies contain lots of information to help you make the right decision.

If you’d like to start the process of suing your dentist, request a callback and we’ll get the process started.

See if you have a case for dental negligence:

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or call us free on: 0800 0853 823