This is a guide to dental negligence claims. All medical professionals, including dentists, owe their patients a duty of care. This means that they must provide the correct standard of care. Should they fail to do this, they may cause you to suffer avoidable harm, for which you could be eligible to make a medical negligence claim.
As we move through this guide, we will examine how medical professionals could breach their duty of care and the various effects that this could have. Furthermore, we will look at guideline compensation brackets for the harm caused by dental negligence. Also, continue reading to learn more about using a No Win No Fee solicitor for your claim.
Additionally, you can contact a member of our team at any time for confidential legal advice. We have a team of advisors that are available 24/7 to discuss your dental negligence claim for free. They can advise on whether you meet the eligibility criteria to make a claim and how much you could receive in a settlement.
To speak to a member of the Medical Negligence Law team, you can:
- Call us on 0800 408 7827
- Contact us via our webpage
- Speak to an advisor by typing in the live chat feature on this page
Choose A Section
- A Guide To Dental Negligence Claims
- Dental Negligence Claims – When Are You Eligible To Claim Compensation?
- What Evidence Could Help You Make A Dental Negligence Claim?
- Potential Compensation That Could Be Received From A Dental Negligence Claim
- Our Panel Of No Win No Fee Solicitors Can Help You Make A Medical Negligence Claim
- Learn More About Dental Negligence Claims
A Guide To Dental Negligence Claims
There are various dental problems that may lead to you requiring medical treatment, such as a decaying tooth or gum disease. Furthermore, you should attend regular dental checkups even if you don’t notice any issues. If a medical professional breaching their duty of care causes you to suffer avoidable harm, you may be eligible to claim compensation. Avoidable harm could include pain and suffering, an exasperation of your condition or a worsened prognosis.
It is important to note that not all instances of a dentist causing you harm will lead to a dental negligence claim. There are instances where medical professionals will cause their patients necessary harm when treating them. Also, there can be cases where you could be caused unnecessary harm, but you cannot make a claim as the dentist provided you with the correct level of care.
In the following section, we will lay out the eligibility criteria that must be met in dental negligence claims. However, if you still have any questions, please speak to a member of our team.
Dental Negligence Claims – When Are You Eligible To Claim Compensation?
A criteria of eligibility must be met in dental negligence claims. Firstly, the dentist must owe you a duty of care. Then, they need to have breached this duty of care by not providing the correct standard of care, resulting in you suffering avoidable harm.
Below we will provide examples of potential dental negligence:
- Wrong tooth extraction – Before carrying out a procedure to remove a decaying tooth, a dentist may fail to carry out the necessary checks, leading to the incorrect tooth being extracted. This means the person is left with the decaying tooth for longer, which could lead to further suffering or an infection.
- Medication errors – A patient may require anaesthetic during a procedure. However, a dosage error could cause the person to receive too much, which could lead to an overdose causing serious consequences, or too little, which could mean the person will feel pain for the entire procedure.
- The use of unsanitised tools – During dental surgery, the dentist or dental nurse may fail to sanitise the tools they use, leading to the patient suffering from an infection.
- Delayed treatment – An incorrect or delayed diagnosis of a dental abscess or mouth cancer, for example, will prolong the time that a patient is left untreated and could lead to a significantly worsened prognosis or, in severe cases, death. This could result from negligence if a patient explains clear symptoms of an illness that a dentist ignores.
Learn whether you could be eligible to receive medical negligence compensation by getting in touch with one of our advisors.
What Evidence Could Help You Make A Dental Negligence Claim?
For any avoidable harm you sustain as a result of dental negligence, it is important that you seek relevant medical attention as soon as possible. Following this, we recommend that you gather evidence to support a dental negligence claim. This could include:
- Medical records
- Prescriptions
- A diary of your symptoms
Also, it is important that you seek legal advice to find out whether you could have valid grounds to make a claim. Our team of advisors are experienced in handling dental negligence claims and will be able to offer further advice on the evidence you could provide to strengthen your claim. However, evidence is not the only factor you must consider. The following section will discuss the relevant time limits to make a medical negligence dental claim.
Is There A Medical Negligence Claim Time Limit?
Under the Limitation Act 1980, dental negligence claims must begin within three years of the date that the incident occurred or within three years of when you made the connection to negligence.
However, exceptions can be made in cases where the person was under 18 at the time of the incident or lacks the mental capacity to bring forward a claim. To learn more about the time limits applicable to your claim and whether these exceptions could apply to your case, speak to one of our advisors.
Potential Compensation That Could Be Received From A Dental Negligence Claim
There are two potential types of compensation that could receive in a successful dental negligence claim: general damages and special damages.
Firstly, we will discuss the general damages head of claim, under which you could be compensated for the physical and psychological harm you sustained due to negligence. We have provided the table below as a guide to potential compensation figures by referring to the version of the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) that was updated in 2022. Certain legal professionals, such as dental negligence solicitors, can also use this document to aid them in valuing the general damages head of a claim.
| Injury | Potential Compensation Brackets | Details of this Injury |
|---|---|---|
| Damage to Teeth (f) | Up to £38,130 | Over a number of years, the person will have significant, chronic tooth pain, for example, caused by an untreated abscess, alongside a significant deterioration in the overall condition of the teeth. |
| Damage to Teeth (f)(i) | £8,730 - £11,410 | Serious damage to or loss of several front teeth. |
| Damage to Teeth (f)(ii) | £4,350 - £7,630 | Serious damage to or loss of two front teeth. |
| Damage to Teeth (f)(iii) | £2,200 - £3,950 | Serious damage to or loss of one front tooth. |
| Damage to Teeth (f)(iv) | £1,090 - £1,710 | Damage to or loss of back teeth. This is calculated per tooth. |
| Fractures of Jaws (e)(ii) | £17,960 - £30,490 | This bracket covers serious fractures that cause permanent consequences, for example, difficulty eating, opening the mouth or where there's paraesthesia in an area of the jaw. |
| Fractures of Jaws (e)(iii) | £6,460 - £8,730 | A simple fracture that requires immobilisation but from which the person will make a complete recovery. |
Every claim is unique. Therefore, the potential compensation brackets in this table should be considered a guide.
Special Damages Compensation When Making Claims For Dental Negligence
Furthermore, dental negligence could also lead to you suffering financial losses. These must have been incurred as a result of the harm you suffered due to negligence. This could include the following:
- Medical costs
- Loss of earnings
- Travel expenses
You must prove these expenses by providing evidence, such as travel tickets, payslips and receipts. For more information regarding payouts for dental negligence claims, please speak to one of our advisors. They could provide you with an accurate estimation tailored to your claim.
Our Panel Of No Win No Fee Solicitors Can Help You Make A Medical Negligence Claim
Our advisors offer a free assessment of your case. Should they find that you may have valid grounds to make a dental negligence claim, they could put you in correspondence with one of the No Win No Fee solicitors from our panel. Working with a No Win No Fee solicitor under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) could prove to be beneficial in various ways:
- First, you generally won’t have to make any payments for the services of a solicitor either upfront or whilst your claim is ongoing.
- Second, you generally won’t make any payment for these services at any time should your claim be unsuccessful.
- Finally, a dental negligence solicitor working under a CFA will commonly receive a small percentage of the compensation. This is known as a success fee, which is capped by the law.
A No Win No Fee solicitor will discuss any costs with you before you enter into an agreement. Therefore, you do not need to worry about hidden costs.
Contact Us For Free 24/7 To See If You Can Claim For Dental Negligence
Speak to our team to learn more about dental negligence claims. They have experience handling these types of claims and will be able to offer expert advice.
To speak to a member of the Medical Negligence Law team, you can:
- Call us on 0800 408 7827
- Contact us via our webpage
- Speak to an advisor by typing in the live chat feature on this page
Learn More About Dental Negligence Claims
Find more information by reading additional guides from our website:
- What Could I Claim After Receiving the Wrong Treatment?
- How To Prove A Medication Error Claim For Compensation
- Cosmetic Surgery Negligence Compensation Claim
Also, get support by following the links below:
- General Dental Council (GDC) – Standards for the dental team
- NHS – What if my NHS dental treatment goes wrong?
- GOV.UK – Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)
We hope this guide has provided you with a better understanding of dental negligence claims. However, if you would like to make any enquiries, please contact us using the details provided above.
Guide by AO
Publisher NS