A woman from the North West has successfully sued her dentist and a local hospital for the sum of £30,000 with the help of the Dental Law Partnership.
Mrs L suffered after a barrage of dental negligence led to severe dental nerve damage and the extraction of multiple teeth when her dentist and her hospital failed to provide her with the care she deserved.
Mrs L visited her dentist in August 2009 complaining of pain in a lower right tooth where Dr N advised that she should receive Root Canal treatment (RCT) to resolve the pain. In September of 2009, the surgery was performed but to no avail. The pain continued into the New Year and saw Mrs L having to return to her dentist in March 2010. Dr N then recommended a further Root Canal treatment at an upper right tooth, after antibiotics were unsuccessful in treating the issue.
Upon her return to the dentist in April 2010, Dr N then fitted a crown to the upper right tooth, but it wasn’t until May when another filling was placed that the problems really started to mount up.
Dr N suddenly noticed that Mrs L’s wisdom tooth was the cause of the problems in her lower right jaw. It had taken almost 9 months for her dentist to find the catalyst of her pain and discomfort. She was then referred to her local hospital for extraction of the offending wisdom tooth where she was the unfortunate victim of further dental negligence.
X-rays taken at the hospital showed that the original tooth that Dr N had performed Root Canal treatment on had severely decayed and that the roots of the teeth were in close proximity to the inferior dental nerve – the nerve which supplies sensation to the lips, tongue and face.
The hospital also found that there were issues in a tooth of the upper left of her jaw, something which her dentist had failed to notice even though they had performed a myriad of procedures.
Both the original tooth and the newly found problematic tooth were removed under general anaesthetic.
Mrs L returned to her dentist complaining of continued numbness throughout her jaw and was again referred back to the hospital for further diagnosis. In June 2011 x-rays found that the operation had been botched. The diagnosis of nerve damage was made as both her lower right wisdom tooth and the upper left tooth had been extracted poorly with the roots left in situ.
The expert solicitors at the Dental Law Partnership were able to secure a compensation claim of £30,000 for Mrs L, who was the victim of two counts of dental negligence.
This case shows how devastating dental negligence can be. We understand that botched dental surgery can harbour lifelong effects like numbness, pain and continued dsicomfort, and as such, fight for the maximum compensation available at all times to help you get the treatment you deserve.
If you feel you have been a victim of dental negligence or suffered due to below par dentistry contact the specialist lawyers at The Dental Law Partnership on 0800 0853 823 to get your dental negligence claim underway.