QUESTION
Can I sue my son''s orthodontist? He has ALS and cant finish out my sons treatment. He''s had braces on for 2 1/2 years already.
Asked on May 09th, 2012 on Medical Malpractice - Illinois
More details to this question:
We took my son in for a second opinion and new orthontist said he needs to start over. Another 3 years and all new braces. Another $5,000. The orthodontist with ALS has been sick for a year. The dental assistant has been taking care of the braces. Basically nothing has been done with my son in 6 months because she didn''t know what to do and the ALS ortho wasn''t around to advise. We''ve already paid them $5,000. I just want the money back so the new ortho can fix this mess. Can I recover legal fees? Can I recover anything else like pain and suffering?
1 ANSWER
Michael Clancy
The short answer is maybe. In order to know for sure, you'll need to gather your son's dental records from the old orthodontist and the new one and take them to a lawyer who specializes in medical/dental malpractice cases. He or she will look over your records and let you know whether it looks like you have a case. If you do have a case, you can't get attorney's fees, but you can recover the cost of any treatment which is necessary to fix the mistakes of the first orthodontist along with pain and suffering and something Illinois law calls "loss of a normal life".
I wish you the best of luck.
Answered on May 10th, 2012 at 12:32 PM