Legal & Dental Mp.

[funsan42]

Dear Mr. Dorfman,

In your reply about my legal m/practice with underlying dental case you said in P.S. Give the some info about what you think the dentist did wrong and what the result was. I can then give you my impression on the value of that case.

I originally came for routine examination at dental clinic with no problems or symptoms. I wanted to request insurance approval for some bridge/crown work.

Specifically, I had a 4-unit bridge ## 29-32, held by two abutments, 29 and 32(where #32 is being a wisdom tooth). I wanted to cup two teeth ## 28 and 29 together(to make a double abutment for that bridge), because of heavy chewing pressure at that end.(# 28 is next to canine tooth toward wisdom tooth). An examining dentist made full mouth X-rays and said that there is some cavity in #28, and she wants me to see an endodontist as to whether I should do a root canal.(She still requested a cup on #28).

Endodontist looked at her X-ray and said that I need root canal, that he will save this tooth if I do it right now at the same day while the nerve and canal is not yet infected, and I agreed.

The problem was that #28 was curved, not straight, but the X-ray supplied by regular dentist to the specialist showed straight root, so eventually he went straight down, which means he perforated canal and went through, while leaving curved part uninstrumented. The gutta-percha point was extruding beyond the tooth while a cyst was developing under the curved end. That’s where my problems started, eventually resulting in this tooth extraction. With the loss of #28, the pressure on the bridge obviously increased on # 29, eventually causing it to break(as it was not strong enough to hold alone that bridge). And of course, the whole bridge failed.

A year ago, I placed three implants in space of 28, 29 and 30(which is in fact, double # 29 – I don’t have enough bone for #30) and now I am going to make a bridge on those implants

While it looks that it was only one-tooth negligence it caused additional problems, involving failure of adjacent bridge. What to say, I had a lot of pain from root canal, a lot of problems with implants surgery, and expenses causing me now to go abroad(next wek) because I can’t afford prosthetic work here All what dentist told me at that time was that they can’t treat me any further because the root happened to be curved, as if it was excuse for a specialist who should have known this before undertaking treatment.

By the way, my attorney did file, and served S&C seven months after statute of limitation, and made extensive work with following motions and appeals about lateness, and lost.

In any event, I'll appreciate your suggestion of giving me your impression on the value of the case. Thank you very much!

Vlad

ANSWER: Value of the case is -0- to maybe $50,000 depending on the cost of the care necessitated by the alleged negligence. The defense would certainly be(regardless of the truth) that they did the best they could under the circumstances and all within the "standard of care" and that you would have eventually needed all that work anyhow. What really determines the value or even viability of the case is what a dental expert would say. Any malpractice case requires testimony by an expert. Your belief in the case doesn't mean anything. Did that attorney obtain an expert opinion? Was it put in writing? Did a qualified expert state specifically that the defendant dentist did something below the standard of care(definition of negligence) and that this negligence caused you significant damage? Unless you have that, the case is worthless.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

What if I get my record from the defendant dentists(by paying for copying the chart and X-rays) and upon that secure expert dental opinion by paying his fee, will it change the picture?

[Fylmer]

That was my point. In any malpractice case, medical or legal, you need evidence from an "expert" that professional negligence occured and that you were damaged by it. So to do this on your own, yes, get your dental chart and then see if you can find a dentist that would review it and write an opinion on whether defendant dentist did commit malpractice to your detriment. Then, as silly as it sounds, you must then get a lawyer to offer evidence that the defendant lawyer was negligent. First see if you get the expert opinion on the dentist.  Then, inform the lawyer that you intend to sue for legal malpractice. Show the expert dental opinion. If you have a good and strong dental expert opinion on the dental negligence, maybe the lawyer's insurance company will offer you enough on the legal mp case to satisfy you. This will be a tough chore. Good luck.