What is Dental Malpractice?
Dental malpractice may not seem like a common type of medical negligence, but this type of malpractice does frequently occur and its victims often suffer a large amount of pain. Dental practitioners and hygienists should have the training necessary to enable them to perform the correct and necessary procedures on patients in a safe manner. Patients should not emerge from a dental visit in severe and lasting pain, even though the general societal sentiment is that dentist visits always involve pain.
Injuries sustained from dental malpractice
Victims of dental malpractice can sustain a number of painful injuries in this particularly sensitive area of the body. When the dental professional, hygienist, or staff member makes a negligent error, the patient may suffer from the following:
- Infections
- Removal of the wrong tooth
- Nerve injuries causing permanent damage
- Poor reactions to drugs
- Complications resulting from improper placement of crowns or fillings
- Furthering of serious conditions, such as undetected oral cancer
Obviously, some of these injuries are worse than others, but all of them may be extremely painful or detrimental to the patient. Victims have a right to take legal action against the responsible party.
Types of dental malpractice
Any of the following may be considered dental malpractice and have the potential to result in severe pain, injury, or even cause disability in the patient:
- Negligent dental work
- Failure to diagnose
- Failure to treat/delay in treatment
- Incorrect diagnosis
- Pharmacy error
These negligent mistakes have the ability to cause serious and dangerous injuries or reactions in the patient.
Contact Us
If you have been a victim of dental malpractice and would like to learn more about your legal rights in this situation, contact the Philadelphia medical malpractice lawyers of Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C. today at 215-238-1130 to speak with one of our experienced attorneys.