QUESTION
Can I at least recover my money back so that I can do my braces again, properly this time?
Asked on Mar 21st, 2013 on Personal Injury - Florida
More details to this question:
I fell as a kid and broke 3 of 6 of the front upper teeth. A few years after that, one of the teeth required a root canal and a crown (which I got done), but I never had a problem with the other 2 teeth, and of course the other 3 good teeth that weren't affected by the fall were alright as well. Years later, I moved to a new city and my crown needed replacement. My new dentist convinced me I had to take it to the next level and have all my 6 front upper teeth (1 "bad", 2 broken, 3 with no problems) "fixed" so that my smile looked uniform. That sort of made sense to me, and I saw pictures of other patients who had been similar cases, so I went with it. In addition, he convinced me that I needed braces, so I went with that as well because, you have to understand, growing up I always felt very conscious about my smile; thus, the promise of a perfect smile sounded good. Long story short, that dentist's office closed recently because of legal actions by some patients (or so I've heard). I started to go to a new dentist and now I'm realizing that what this other person did was really extreme and not very well executed. I had 5 "good" teeth replaced with crowns, when he could've done veneers and I would've been able to keep my teeth. What!? I went through 2 cycles of braces (Invisalign) and my bite is still open to a point where I can't even chew my food properly. I thought I had to live with that if I wanted to protect my crowns (see above), but it turns out... not at all... there are other ways to protect crowns without having to have the patient experience a bunch of digestive system issues in 10-20 years. Maybe less important is the fact that I let this guy replaced what I think were perfectly good fillings "because the previous ones didn't look good," and one of the tooth involved I just had to have a root canal done on it because the replacement filling went too deep.
7 ANSWERS
Ronald A. Steinberg
Get a lawyer who handles dental cases, and pray that the bad guy had insurance.
Answered on Mar 25th, 2013 at 8:14 PM
Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Attorney serving Syracuse, NY
at
Andrew T. Velonis, P.C.
Update Your Profile
If I read you story correctly, you said that the dentist who did not do the job properly is no longer in practice. So who could you recover from?
Answered on Mar 24th, 2013 at 9:09 PM
Criminal Defense Attorney serving Anderson, SC
at
The David F. Stoddard Law Firm
Update Your Profile
Possibly. You could sue the dentist for breach or contract. There are two potential problems. First, depending on how much you spent, there may not be enough money involved to make it economically feasible for a lawyer to take the case. Second, the Dentist who has gone out of business may not have assets from which you could collect a judgment. You could sue for malpractice, but that would require that you get an opinion from a dentist that this dentist's actions fell below the appropriate standard of care. You might still have the problem of not being able to collect from the Dentist but hopefully he had malpractice insurance.
Answered on Mar 24th, 2013 at 8:43 PM
Christian Joseph Menard
Whether you have a case for dental malpractice requires an independent dental exam of your mouth and records, including all imaging studies. If the opinion of the second dentist is that the first dentist was negligent or that he gave you bad treatment, and that the negligence caused you damage, then you have a case. If all you want is your money back, then you may have a beach of contract case if he promised you one thing but gave you something else to which you did not agree. The practical problem is if the first dentist would have anything to pay you with given the fact that a lot if other patients are going after him. You can check the court house files to see if there are other lawsuits filed against him and/or his practice. A simple records check wool tell you this.
Answered on Mar 24th, 2013 at 8:37 PM
You can sue for malpractice if you can find a dentist/orthodontist who will state that your former dentist's treatment fell below the standard in the community.
Answered on Mar 24th, 2013 at 6:09 PM
Personal Injury Attorney serving Charlotte, NC
at
Paul Whitfield and Associates P.A.
Update Your Profile
You have several problems. You, like many people were more concerned with good looks than good health so maybe you made some bad judgments. You made them. you need to live with them unless you can prove malpractice. you did not make it clear what the time frames were. If you are of full age you must move within 3 years. If a child when all this happened within that time after you reach full age. Now, how you blame digestive problems 10 or 20 years off on anybody is beyond me. if you are within the proper time frame you must have a dentist review your dental records and tell you whether this is a case of malpractice (my guess is no) if he says yes, then if her says he will go to court to testify for you, you have the start of a case. you said the dentist is out of business. Is he alive or dead? Where is he? Does he have insurance to cover a case? does he have assets to cover Damages? If he is out of business he may have no insurance and he may have no assets you can reach.
Answered on Mar 24th, 2013 at 6:08 PM
Automobile Negligence Attorney serving Orlando, FL
at
Kelaher Law Offices, P.A.
Update Your Profile
Only if another similarly qualified dentist renders the opinion that the prior dentist deviated from the standard of care.
Answered on Mar 24th, 2013 at 5:58 PM