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Negligent treatment from a dental practitioner can injure a patient to the point that they need further treatment to correct the damage. In severe instances, it can even cause permanent damage. Under certain circumstances, this negligence may constitute dental malpractice, in which case the patient has the right to recover compensation from their provider.
The Basics of Dental Malpractice
Dental malpractice is a legal term for when a dental healthcare provider, such as a dentist, dental surgeon, orthodontist, or periodontist, fails to provide treatment that complies with the applicable standard of care and harms a patient as a result. Not every adverse outcome of dental treatment qualifies as dental malpractice. Instead, a patient may have a dental malpractice claim if their case meets several elements:
- The existence of a provider-patient relationship (the patient sought or needed treatment, and the provider undertook to provide such treatment)
- The provider consequently owed a duty of care in rendering treatment to the patient
- The provider’s decisions or actions violated the applicable duty of care
- The provider’s breach of the duty of care caused the patient harm
- The patient incurred losses due to the harm they sustained
The specifics of the standard of care vary from patient case to patient case. However, the law generally describes the standard of care as the treatment decisions and actions that other dental providers of similar training and experience would undertake in circumstances identical to the patient’s case.
The standard of care depends on various factors in a patient’s case, including:
- The nature of the treatment rendered or the procedure performed
- The patient’s physical condition
- The patient’s dental and medical history
- The provider’s speciality (e.g., general dentistry, oral surgery, periodontics, orthodontics, etc.)
In dental malpractice cases, patients usually must present expert testimony from a dental practitioner in the same specialty as the defendant. The expert must testify as to the specific applicable standard of care in the patient’s case and opine how the defendant’s conduct failed to comply with the standard of care and caused the harm suffered by the patient.
Common Examples of Dental Malpractice
Examples of actions that may constitute dental malpractice include:
- Delayed diagnosis or misdiagnosis of dental conditions, such as oral cancer or gum disease
- Failure to treat conditions
- Selecting an improper treatment or procedure
- Surgical errors, including performing procedures incorrectly or operating on the wrong part of the mouth
- Failed tooth extractions
- Causing injuries or damage through the use of tools or equipment (e.g., damaging soft tissues, breaking a tooth, etc.)
- Failure to obtain informed consent, including by failing to explain the risks of a procedure or not discussing alternative treatments
When Does an Error Become Dental Malpractice?
Not every adverse outcome or complication suffered by a dental patient indicates dental malpractice. Instead, a dental practitioner’s error may constitute malpractice if it fell below the accepted standard of care in the patient’s case and caused injuries or complications for the patient. Some of the signs that a provider’s error constitutes malpractice include:
- The patient’s injury would not have occurred with proper care
- Other providers would have made different decisions or taken different actions
- The patient’s harm would not have occurred but for negligent treatment by a provider
For example, suppose a dental practitioner overlooks signs and symptoms of oral cancer, and as a result, the patient’s cancer goes undiagnosed until it progresses to a more advanced stage and causes worsening symptoms. The patient’s harm may include the loss of the opportunity for more effective or less painful treatments because the delayed diagnosis caused their cancer to progress to a more advanced stage. The provider’s error may constitute dental malpractice if other dentists would have diagnosed the patient’s cancer earlier based on the signs or symptoms the provider missed.
Contact Our Firm Today When You’ve Suffered Injuries from Dental Malpractice in New York
If you’ve suffered harm or complications because of negligent dental care, you may have the right to demand financial compensation through a dental malpractice case. An experienced lawyer can help you through the complex legal issues in a dental malpractice claim. Contact Lance Ehrenberg, Esq. today for a free, no-obligation consultation with a knowledgeable dental malpractice attorney in New York. We look forward to meeting you, discussing what happened, and explaining what we can do to help.