Dental negligence can have severe and long-term effects such as the inability to eat properly, complications from oral diseases and tooth removal that could have otherwise been prevented.
When you are treated by a medical professional, you expect to receive the best possible treatment as they have a duty of care towards their patients. Therefore, when this does not happen, it can feel as though you have been misguided.
If you have suffered an injury or illness as a result of a dental professional’s treatment, you may be entitled to make a claim for dental negligence.
What is covered in dental negligence claims?
Dental negligence claims cover any type of injury that has been caused as a direct result by your dental health professional. If this has happened to you, then you may be entitled to compensation. Common examples of dental negligence include:
· Nerve damage injuries
· Delay or incorrect diagnosis – including oral cancer misdiagnosis
· Mistakes in treatment, such as root canal treatment, leading to damage or loss of multiple teeth
· Cosmetic dentistry problems
· Restorative dentistry errors
· Periodontal disease misdiagnosis
· Extraction of a wrong tooth
· Misdiagnosis of oral cancer
· Misdiagnosis of gum disease
All of these types of errors can cause a variety of physical issues and complications. Contact us today to speak to one of our dental negligence solicitors who can assist you with making a claim.
How will my dental negligence claim compensation be calculated?
A dental negligence claim is made up of two areas, the amount of compensation you receive will be split into general damages and special damages.
General damages cover physical injuries; these damages take the severity of your injuries into consideration as the more severe your injuries are, the higher the compensation levels are likely to be. If you have been left disfigured as a direct result of dental malpractice, this would be covered by general damages.
Special damages cover the financial impact the dental negligence had. This includes loss of earnings which will depend on the severity of your injuries and the type of job that you do. Special damages also cover any care that you may need. For example, if you lost teeth due to dental malpractice, the court would likely reward you with compensation to cover the financial implications of this in the future.
If the Defendant admits liability for your case, you may also be able to receive an interim payment, meaning that you could receive a part-payment of compensation during litigation. These payments are made by the other side before a case is settled in order to aid you fund a number of vital things such as urgent medical care.
Time limits for making a dental negligence claim
The law on time limits for dental negligence claims is similar to most other clinical negligence claims. The general rule is that you have three years from the date of the accident to have either settled your claim or started court proceedings where the injury occurred.
The three-year deadline commences from the date that the injury occurred or from the date on which you realised that your injury was associated with dental negligence. If you are claiming on behalf of an individual, the time limit remains the same.
The three-year time limit for claiming compensation does not apply to under 18s; however, it will come into effect after their 18th birthday. There is also no time limit for individuals that lack the mental capacity to make a claim themselves.
In the unfortunate event that you need to address past wrongs while seeking justice for dental negligence, exploring options for historical institutional abuse claims can be an important step.
How much do dental negligence claims cost?
We will always be 100% transparent about what our charges are; if we take on your medical negligence case, we will almost always do so on no win no fee agreements (also known as a conditional agreement).
This means that if you do not win your case, you do not pay us any fees at all. If we win the case, we take a small percentage of the compensation you receive, which we will agree with you beforehand, to cover our costs.
We will never ask you to sign anything until you are completely happy with what it is that we are proposing.
How can Wildwood Legal assist?
At Wildwood Legal, we know that the consequences of dental negligence can be devastating. If you have suffered from this, you need to seek legal advice – That’s where we come in.
Our core strength is in personal injury claims. We are experienced in helping you with any negligence claims that you may want to make. We aim to give you not only quality aid but flexibility and clarity as we know that these qualities are just as important.
Our law firm is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority; therefore, we provide everything that is needed to meet their high standards meaning that we are a trusted law firm. We offer services to individuals located in England and Wales.
Our ultimate aim is to obtain a great outcome for your case and for you to feel able to recommend us to others at the end of your claim.
We value the opinion of our clients, and we will always listen to you and take on board what you say.
If you’ve suffered as a result of dental negligence, get in touch with us, and we can help you start your claim– we’re only a phone call away. You won’t regret it. To make an enquiry, get in contact with us either email us info@winstonsolicitors.co.uk or call us 0113 320 5000.
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If you are thinking about making a claim, we would love to hear from you. We will give you clear, honest advice.
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