Stand Up For Your Rights If You Are A Victim Of Dental Malpractice
Jon Arnold
Malpractice is something we usually think about when we think about medical care. However, of course, when taking at a closer look, dental care is also medical care of its own type. And like medical professionals, dental professionals, too, must be vigilant that they provide proper care within the proper parameters and procedures for their patients. If they don't, a patient can file a lawsuit against them alleging that they were harmed because of this negligence.
With this type of occurrence, the first course of action is to discuss the problem with the dentist you had the treatment done with and see if resolution can be achieved that way. If not, the next thing to do to complain to the dental society within your area and see if that resolves the difficulty. State or local dental societies work very hard to ensure that their professionals meet a particular standard of care, so often this will get you the results you think you deserve. You can also complain to the state licensing board.
If the damage that occurred is permanent or cannot be rectified and is as a result of negligence, and if complaining to the state licensing board or the dental society does not get you the outcome you think you deserve, your next step should be to consult an attorney who specializes in malpractice, specifically dental malpractice if possible. In addition, because the clock is ticking for these types of cases and you only have a certain amount of time to file a claim, depending on your state, you should consult an attorney as soon as you realize these other venues of resolution are not going to work.
Keep in mind that for dental malpractice to occur, you as the patient must feel that "quantifiable" damages have occurred as a result of the dentist's negligence. In addition, as stated previously, you have to work fast if you get to this stage because your particular statute of limitations may be very short, as little as one year after the treatment that caused the injury occurred. As stated previously, it's best to consult an attorney that's not just versed in malpractice, but dental malpractice.
One of your best courses of action during all of the work you do is to keep a very detailed log in a notebook. Be sure to state who you talked with, on what date and time, what was discussed and the action items left as a result of that call. Having such detailed records can sometimes mean the difference between winning your case and having it thrown out, if your dental malpractice suit gets into a courtroom.
If the attorney reviews your claim and thinks that you have a valid case, it may proceed to the next level. In most cases, damages for a dental malpractice case are relatively small when compared to those of medical malpractice, for example. Therefore, most attorneys will advise that you settle out of court to save the cost of a trial. In some cases, though, negligence and the resulting harm is substantial within a particular case of dental malpractice; if this is so, the case can indeed go to trial.
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