Dentist Caused an Infection and Is Suing Me
Posted by writeradmin
I had a dental crown placed on a tooth. It was my first crown so I didn’t know what to expect really. It was achy at first. Then, about a week later it grew very sensitive to both hot and cold. The dentist said that was normal and it would fix itself. The pain grew worse and I called in sick to work. But the next day I was in agony so I went to see a different dentist. He did an x-ray and told me that I have a roaring infection with the tooth under the crown because of something called open margins. It now needs a root canal treatment and a new crown. I contacted the original dentists office and asked them to cover the new treatment I need. They refused blaming me for not caring well enough for the crown they gave me. I’d only paid for half the work they did so refused to pay the other half. After all, I need that money to fix the work they botched. Now I received a message that I’m being sued for the balance. I guess I have to countersue, but wondered if you had any advice for me. You should know I have the x-rays. Also, the original dentist didn’t do x-rays to check the margins.
Kelly
Dear Kelly,
What a nightmare for you. Bear in mind that I have not examined you so I can only give advice based soley on the information here. Dentists do not generally do x-rays in order to check the margins. Instead, they will run what is known as an explorer around the gumline to make sure the dental crown fits well. Either your dentist skipped this step or he didn’t want to redo his work. Either way, he would be liable for the shoddy work and the resulting infection.
You can try filing the countersuit. That may at least bring them to the negotiating table. You will need the other dentist, the one who did the x-ray and told you about the open margins, to be willing to testify on your behalf. There are never guaranteed results when it comes to lawsuits so be aware of that going in.
Here are some other options you have which you can try before court that may make them willing to drop their suit and cooperate. Though, I’m not sure how reasonable this dentist is based on what you’ve said.
Let them know you are willing to go to the dental board and you have x-ray proof of their negligence. You can also have a lawyer write a threatening letter so they know you are serious before you file a malpractice claim. They may respond to that and you never have to file.
Don’t wait for the case to be resolved before you treat your tooth infection. This is serious and a dental emergency can turn into a life threatening one.
This blog is brought to you by a compassionate dentist in Arnold, MD, Dr. Meredith Esposito.