While most everyone knows about medical malpractice and the ability to seek restitution for injuries sustained due to medical negligence, few realize that malpractice protection can also extend to the patients of dentists as well. Understanding some of the most common types of dental malpractice can help you to recognize if you, or a loved one, have been a victim of this type of negligence.
Diagnosis Issues
There are a few issues centered around your dental diagnosis that can qualify as malpractice. For example, if your dentist fails to diagnose a condition, such as periodontitis, oral cancer, or something similarly significant, that could be deemed malpractice if it was a condition obvious enough that most professionals would have caught it.
Additionally, failing to inform you of a diagnosis can also be considered malpractice. Even if the diagnosis is written in your records, failing to inform you makes it impossible for you to address the condition, and it also makes it impossible for you to provide a complete medical history. If this oversight leads to complications, you may be able to claim dental malpractice.
Providing an incorrect diagnosis is also problematic. If your dentist gives you a diagnosis that is proven to be incorrect, and another dentist can attest that your dentist should have known clearly what the actual diagnosis was, you may have grounds to file a dental malpractice claim.
Informed Consent Problems
In order for you to legally consent to a dental procedure, informed consent rules must be followed. This means that you must legally be informed not only of your diagnosis, but also of what the treatment will entail. Further, you must be advised of any alternative treatments and any potential complications of those treatments.
Understanding all of the factors that apply to your treatment allows you to provide what is called informed consent, which means that you are consenting to the treatment with full knowledge of the risks and the potential benefits.
If your dentist fails to provide you with this information and you suffer a known complication that leads to damages, you might be able to claim dental malpractice.
Treatment Mistakes
You expect your dentist to complete any procedures or treatments accurately and effectively. If a mistake is made during your treatment that causes you further injury or leads to lasting damage, you may have the right to claim dental malpractice on the grounds of unnecessary injury and suffering.
Talk with a dental malpractice attorney today for more information.
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