Can Dental Treatment Involve Malpractice?
Medical malpractice is often associated with a physician’s negligence, but other professionals may be found liable for malpractice. For instance, a dental professional’s failure to adhere to their professional obligations can result in malpractice. If you believe that you have been the victim of dental malpractice, the Greenville medical malpractice lawyers at Parham Smith & Archenhold, LLC, would like to assist you in filing your claim.
Negligence of a Dental Professional
While not widely discussed, it is estimated that as many as one in seven malpractice cases involve dental malpractice. Anytime a dentist, dental hygienist, or other dental professional makes a mistake, resulting in injury to the patient, they may be found liable for their actions.
A successful dental malpractice claim is dependent on establishing the following:
- Standard of care: A dentist-patient relationship must be established.
- Breach of duty: The dentist or other dental professional must have violated the expected standard of care. The acceptable standard of care is measured based on what another practitioner would have done given the same or similar circumstances.
- Causation: You must show how the dentist’s or dental professional’s actions caused you harm. This harm must be a direct result of the dentist’s act or omission.
- Damages: The actions of the dentist or dental professional must have caused you compensable losses, such as physical, financial, and/or emotional damages.
Examples of Dental Malpractice
Common examples of dental malpractice:
Surgical Errors
Errors can be made during root canals, implants, and corrective jaw surgeries, another form of medical malpractice. Various issues can arise during even a routine surgical procedure, such as an abscess forming after a root canal due to bacteria re-entering the tooth or caused by a new infection.
Issues Administering Anesthesia
Dentists may administer a local anesthetic such as lidocaine, articaine, mepivacaine, and bupivacaine when performing extractions, fillings, root canals, and other minor surgeries. In cases in which the procedure requires that the patient be sedated, your dentist may administer nitrous oxide (“laughing gas”), which is a type of short-acting sedation. Under this form of sedation, you will still be able to answer the dentist’s questions, but you will feel relaxed during the procedure.
Failure to Diagnose or Delayed Diagnosis
Diagnosis of dental diseases is critical to preventing their progression and to avoiding more severe conditions from developing. Having routine X-rays is key to early detection, preventing gingivitis from becoming gum disease or oral cancer from metastasizing to lymph nodes and other organs.
Misinterpreting Test Results
A dentist can misinterpret an X-ray or other laboratory tests, missing signs that something may be wrong. This could be due to low image quality, picking up one medical issue but failing to investigate for others, or misreading the X-ray itself.
Failure to Follow Up with Patient or Provide Aftercare Instructions
Following up with a patient and providing clear aftercare instructions is essential for a patient to fully recover. A dentist who fails to provide aftercare instructions could be found liable if the patient develops an infection or experiences severe or prolonged pain. In short, a dentist’s job is not done when their instruments are put away.
How Long Do I Have to File a Dental Malpractice Claim in Greenville, SC?
As in all personal injury claims, you only have three years to file a dental malpractice claim in South Carolina. If you wait longer, you can be barred from damages. However, an exception exists if you did not discover your injury until a later date. Known as the discovery rule, this pauses the legal “clock,” only having it begin once you became aware of or should have become aware of your injury.
The discovery rule can pose certain challenges, such as difficulty gathering reliable evidence. After an extended period has passed, physical evidence may deteriorate, and eyewitnesses’ memories may fade. Regardless of when your injury is discovered, in South Carolina, you must file your dental malpractice claim within six years after the incident that caused the injury.
Speak with Our Greenville Medical Malpractice Attorneys Today
If you or someone you care about has experienced an injury following dental treatment, our Greenville medical malpractice lawyers would like to speak with you. For over 40 years, our legal team has helped individuals recoup financial, physical, and emotional losses following inadequate dental care. Let us put our experience and knowledge to work for you. To schedule a free case review, contact Parham Smith & Archenhold, LLC, online or by calling (864) 432-1796.