Hertfordshire school boy awarded payout following dentist’s blunder

A local school boy has been awarded £2,000 in a court approved settlement after a dental mistake left him with permanent damage.

Nationwide specialist law firm, the Dental Law Partnership, with an office in Theobald Street, Borehamwood, acted for Daniel Rosato, 16, from Borehamwood, who sued his dentist after she caused the wrong tooth to be extracted when treating Daniel at Bricketwood Dental Practice. Daniel had first visited  for a routine check up when he was informed that due to extensive decay he needed a tooth removing on the lower right side of his mouth. Because the tooth was at the back of his mouth, a notoriously difficult area to extract teeth from,  Daniel was referred to a specialist to carry out the procedure. Following the treatment, Daniel was surprised to find a tooth from the left side of his mouth had been taken out. “At first I thought I’d misunderstood which tooth needed extracting,” Daniel explained. “When it turned out I hadn’t and the wrong tooth had been removed I was shocked.”

Daniel has since needed root canal treatment on the tooth which was supposed to have been removed to make sure that it is not lost as well. Evidence provided for Daniel’s lawyer, Christina Bateman from the dental negligence law firm, the Dental Law Partnership, showed that his dentist had made a mistake on her letter to the specialist which detailed which tooth was to be removed. Bateman said: “The dentist wrote that the tooth known as LL6, a back tooth on the lower left side of Daniel’s mouth, was to be extracted. In fact it was a tooth known as the LR6 – on the lower right side of his mouth – that needed taking out.

“In making this mistake and failing to double check the letter before sending it, the dentist has caused my client to undergo additional dental treatment which would not have been necessary had she been accurate when writing the referral letter to the specialist.”Daniel said: “It’s really upsetting to think that this could have been avoided, but I’m glad it’s finally been settled and I can move on from this. “The dentist  has admitted liability.