Re: Dental malpractice (UK) - Some questions - mostly legal

From: Steven Bornfeld (dentaltwinnospam_at_earthlink.net)
Date: 09/29/04 

Date: Wed, 29 Sep 2004 09:17:36 -0400

Andrew wrote:
> Have I got a Case?
>
> In October 2002, I had a lot of dental work done (to remove/replace old
> amalgam fillings).
> It was done to a poor standard and led to more than 6 months of pain and
> the loss of a tooth (The opinion of The Dentists who redid the work)
>
> In order to protect the public etc, I made a complaint against the dentist
> to the General Dental Council. (In May 2003). The complaint was passed
> through their screener to their preliminary proceedings committee, who did
> not reach a decision until nearly a year later - in April 2004, when they
> decided that the dentist should NOT be summoned to attend an inquiry before
> their Professional Conduct Committee. They also told me that they had
> advised her in connection with the matter I raised, and mentioned three
> points in particular.
>
> (*that good practice dictates that full records should always be
> kept
> *that prior to treatment x-rays should be taken wherever possible
> and appropriate
> *that good communications, both oral and written, should be
> practised with patients)
>
> I am disappointed that the dentist is still out there and probably still
> doing rushed shoddy work and causing pain. I had hoped she would be barred
> from practicing.
>
> I also feel that she should refund the money I paid her and compensate for
> over 6 months of pain, and the loss of a tooth etc. I have recently written
> to her saying I will settle for £9k.
>
> Fortunately a lot of photos were taken during restoration, so I have photos
> of the work she did, many of them showing the decay left behind hidden under
> the new fillings, and I also have statements from the Three Dentists who
> redid her work.
>
> Could this be dealt with by The Small Claims Court? Regarding Small Claims I
> have read that "If your claim is for less than £5,000, but includes a claim
> for personal injury, your case will not be allocated to the small claims
> track unless the amounts claimed in respect of personal injury, disrepair
> and damages are each no more than £1,000."
>
> - Would the damage to me be classed as "personal injury" and therefore rule
> out the Small Claims procedure?
>
> Would I be likely to find a Solicitor who would pursue the dentist on a no
> win no fee basis?
>
> Are the GDC (General Dental Council) just there to protect dentists? Or
> would they consider my complaint fairly? Should I appeal?
>
> As it is now nearly two years since the work was done, am I approaching - or
> have I passed - any deadlines for legal action.
>
> Do I risk anything by posting the whole story, including links to a web
> page, photos, letters etc in order to provide a warning to other potential
> victims who try a google search (as I did) before trusting their teeth to
> this dentist?

        You are asking all the right questions. Best to ask them to a lawyer,
though.
        I would guess things are pretty similar to the states.
        The one issue you should know is that even if the work looks
substandard, it is difficult to prove unless you have pre and postop
x-rays (just postop) demonstrating that decay was left. It is very
difficult for a dentist looking at a mouth for the first time and even
seeing what looks like terrible treatment what the situation was
beforehand. The other thing is that in the US, a no-win, no-fee
(contingency) case will only be taken if there is a very substantial
payoff, since these cases (here anyway) are expensive to bring.
        If your new dentist is willing to testify to your oral condition
shortly after you were treated by the old dentist, this would help, esp.
if you are able to obtain pre-op photos and radiographs.
        Hopefully someone from the UK here will have some information on the
size threshold for bringing a liability case.
        Even though no disciplinary action was brought against the dentist, you
should be assured that since your case is now on the record, subsequent
complaints will be viewed in a stricter context.

Good luck,
Steve

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