How To Prove Dental Malpractice

Regular dental care is vital for oral health. Dental patients expect their dentist to follow dental standards and be a reasonable professional. A dentist deviating from established standards can result in pain, injury, and expensive dental bills.

A dental malpractice lawsuit can help you get compensation for dental injuries. You must prove key elements for dental malpractice in court. To find out if you have a dental malpractice case, contact a dental malpractice lawyer.

What Do You Have to Prove in a Dental Malpractice Claim?

Dental malpractice and medical malpractice are types of healthcare professional negligence claims. To win a dental malpractice lawsuit, you have to prove all the elements of the case. You must prove that:

• The dentist owed the patient a duty of care
• The dentist breached their duty by deviating from established dental standards
• The breach caused the patient’s injuries
• The patient suffered harm because of the dentist’s actions

Is There a Dentist-Patient Relationship?

Sometimes, a dentist may challenge your claim that you were their patient. Dentistry and medical professionals owe their patients a duty of care. But they don’t owe a professional duty to the average person on the street. You may have to show there was a dentist-patient relationship.

You can show a dentist-patient relationship with dental records, dental bills, and testimony. But a dentist who never saw you in person may still owe you a professional duty. For example, a remote dentist reviewing your X-rays online may be enough to establish a dentist-client relationship.

What Is the Dentist’s Duty of Care?

A duty of care requires people to act reasonably. For example, you owe a duty of care to other drivers on the road to drive like a reasonable person. If you don’t drive reasonably and cause an accident, you’re liable for damages.

Dentists have a professional duty of care. They are responsible for following dental standards and acting like a reasonable professional. The dental standard of care is based on an area’s dental standards. If your dentist doesn’t act like a reasonably prudent dental professional under the circumstances, they’re breaching their dental duty of care.

How Do You Prove the Dentist Breached the Duty of Care?

The duty of care is based on professional standards. However, the average person doesn’t know what a reasonable dentist should do in a given situation. In medical malpractice cases, a medical expert tells the jury about medical standards and when someone deviates from standard medical practices.

In a dental malpractice case, the expert witness is generally someone with similar training, education, and experience as the dentist involved. A dental expert can explain to the jury how the dentist’s actions went outside dental standards in causing your injury.

In many states, you have to have an affidavit or certificate of merit by a dental expert before you can file a dental malpractice claim.

Did the Dental Error Cause the Injuries?

Dental malpractice cases have two types of causation. You have to show that the dentist’s actions (or inactions) were the proximate cause of the injuries. “Proximate cause” means that no intervening factors caused your injury. “But-for causation” means the injury wouldn’t have happened but for the dental negligence.

How Do You Prove Damages in a Dentist Malpractice Case?

To win a dental malpractice suit, you also have to prove damages. Damages are the losses suffered because of dental errors. This includes physical, financial, and mental harm. Types of damages in a dental malpractice case include:

• Medical bills
• Future dental and medical care
• Lost income
• Loss of earnings
• Pain and suffering
• Disfigurement and scarring
• Emotional distress

You can prove financial losses with medical bills, pay stubs, and tax records. An expert witness can help you prove future losses, including the loss of your income potential and the likely costs of continuing care. Medical experts can testify to your physical and mental injuries with medical records.

What Is an Example of Proving Dental Malpractice?

Imagine that someone goes to the dentist for tooth pain. The dentist tells them they will need a root canal. They go in for oral surgery, but the dentist performs a root canal on the wrong tooth. This causes permanent nerve damage, and the patient still has to have the initial root canal.

Remember, the dentist owes the patient a duty of care to act as a reasonable dental professional. However, the dentist breached the duty of care by failing to notice they were operating on the wrong tooth. Doing an unnecessary root canal caused the patient’s dental injury. They suffered more pain and the costs of additional dental procedures.

How Can a Dental Malpractice Attorney Help?

Talking to a personal injury lawyer is the best way to find out if you can prove dental malpractice. An experienced dental malpractice lawyer can file a medical malpractice claim in court to help you recover compensation. They’ll look at your medical and dental records to identify what the dentist or orthodontist did wrong.

Most dental malpractice attorneys will offer a free case evaluation. With a contingency agreement, you won’t have to pay anything unless they win your case or get a fair settlement offer. For legal advice about your case, contact an experienced dental malpractice lawyer.