QUESTION
#6 crown broken off 26Oct 2016; 1st put in in March 2015. Dentist was putting an implant in #7 at the time of breaking off #6. Wants $1260 for new #6.
Asked on Jan 05th, 2017 on Legal Malpractice - Wisconsin
More details to this question:
New Dentist advertised $1900 for implant on Number 7 for my wife. Broke off # 6 in the process. Charging us $1280 for new #6 now. Also had more than 10 plus impressions and fittings to fit the temporary including a 3 hour session that was originally to take 1 hour. The original crown on #6 was put in by another dentist in March of 2015 and was just fine. What can/should we do about this? Feel we were duped on the $1900 implant quote. All total this bill is at $5354.00 ($1000 of which the insurance paid). After initial visit for the implant we were told to put down $1900 before treatment. We did this. Wife endured constant pain and repeated adjustments and corrections to "fit" the temporary. Excuse for needed impressions given by the dentist was that the LAB that made the temporary was requesting more . My wife has endured constant pain and literally HELL with this dentist. On December 2 (last visit) we were given a bill highlighting all of the charges. This bill is a mess.
1 ANSWER
4 Awards
You labeled your post as "Legal malpractice." The problem with your wife though is a medical (dental) malpractice issue. These cases are exceedingly difficult to pursue and win. I wrote a blog at our law firm's web site on the difficulty of suing for medical malpractice in the state of Wisconsin. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel did an article about it last year as well. While dental cases may not be quite as difficult or complex as medical cases, they are still very dificult. Here is what I suggest for your wife; she needs to obtain all of her recent dental records and x rays from the current dentist. Once she receives those records, going back to March 2015, make an appointment with a malpractice lawyer of your choice who can hire a consultant (dentist) to review the records, to determine if there is a viable case. The statute of limitations in Wisconsin for medical malpractice (including dental cases) is three years from the date of the occurrence. Failure to file a lawsuit within 3 years, would forever bar the claim.
Answered on Jan 05th, 2017 at 1:38 PM
David B. Karp Karp & Iancu, S.C. 933 North Mayfair Road #300 Milwaukee, WI 53226 414 453 0800 dbk@karplawfirm.com www.karplawfirm.com