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Going to a dentist is about more than just having a million dollar smile. Proper dental care is also about good health, having a healthy set of teeth and gums that keep the patient in overall good health. But dental negligence (also known as medical malpractice) can occur during even simple, everyday procedures that impact a person for the rest of their lives. Medical malpractice, including dental negligence, falls under the legal classification of personal injury law. A personal injury attorney is often referred to as a “medical malpractice attorney” or even called a “dental malpractice attorney”. A medical malpractice attorney may need to be called in to help when the dentist, orthodontist, endodontist, oral and maxillofacial surgeon, periodontist, prosthodontists, pediatric dentist or a dental assistant make a mistake that causes permanent numbness or loss of taste. Those problems can affect speech and the ability to eat properly for the remainder of the patient’s life. The injury may not be observed visually, but it impacts one’s quality of life in a multitude of ways. Of course, no one wants to think about the possibility of a dental mistake when they sit in the dentist’s chair for a checkup, fillings, cleanings or more complicated procedures such as wisdom teeth extraction. Fortunately, the vast majority of procedures are done correctly and with healthy, pain-free outcomes. But the sheer number of procedures done every year means mistakes are sometimes made. Consider the potential outcome of shoddy wisdom teeth removal: - Damage the lingual (tongue) and inferior alveolar (jaw) nerves, which are the site of many dental malpractice incidents.
- Numbness caused by damage to the lingual nerve can also affect the lips, chin and jaw (inferior alveolar nerve).
- Results range from a transient (temporary) sensory disturbance to permanent paraesthesia (an abnormal sensation), hypoaesthesia (reduced sensation) or dysaesthesia (abnormal sensation).
- Difficulties come with speech, mastication (chewing) and general quality of life.
Other procedures that can cause numbness or loss of taste: - Root canal overfill, when the filling material penetrates the underlying main sensory nerve in the lower jaw or into the sinus in the upper jaw
- Use of non-FDA approved root canal filling pastes, including those containing paraformaldehyde (considered a substandard practice by the American Dental Association and the American Association of Endodontists).
- Drilling too deeply to surgically place implant roots, such that the underlying main sensory jaw nerve is penetrated.
Some adverse effects to taste and sensation subside with time or with further treatment. But if these symptoms persist, you need to engage a medical malpractice attorney. Corrective procedures, if even possible, can incur significant additional cost. It may impact your ability to earn a living, and your pain and suffering may require use of pharmaceutical painkillers for years to come. The State of California allows dental malpractice settlements that cover all costs and pain and suffering up to $250,000. But because of the potentially life-long impairment that might result, out-of-pocket costs and lost wages can be considerably more. Here are some awards made recently by California courts: - Periodontist severed a lingual nerve in a wisdom tooth extraction, resulting in a $615,000 settlement.
- Oral surgeon damaged a jawbone in a wisdom tooth extraction, leaving permanent loss of sensation in the lower lip that affected appearance, speech and ability to drink and eat. The patient received $150,000 for future pain and suffering and his wife was awarded an additional $50,000 for loss of consortium.
- Dentist unnecessarily removed a wisdom tooth, which had been infected but managed effectively with use of antibiotics. The removal affected the mandibular nerve, leaving permanent damage with unrelenting pain (patient was never advised of risks). The court awarded the plaintiff $750,000.
- By transecting a lingual nerve in a wisdom tooth extraction, a patient was left with permanent numbness, an impulse to bite his tongue and drooling that in all likelihood will never subside. The lawsuit resulted in a $1.5 million settlement.
Most personal injury attorneys who accept medical malpractice cases typically work on a contingency basis, and therefore screen all potential cases to know if the standard of care was compromised, and that the injuries were truly a result of the dental care. If so, there clearly is reason to seek compensation for damages, losses and suffering. R. Klettke is a freelance writer. He writes about personal injury and medical malpractice law and other matters of jurisprudence. Important Advisory: This article is not intended to provide legal advice upon which you or anyone else should rely in making any decisions regarding the instituting or prosecuting of a legal claim. Laws and rules relating to the bringing of a claim vary widely from state to state. You should always contact a personal injury attorney to obtain information as to the rules and the laws pertaining to any claim you might have.
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