Dental Malpractice Attorney in Philadelphia
y Helping Residents Suffering From Dental Injuries
Approximately 36% of Americans are afraid of going to the dentist. While their fears are usually dismissed, dental malpractice is the stuff of nightmares. Botched dental procedures can result in permanent nerve damage, loss of taste, and injuries to the jaw.
Patients can even die in the dentist’s chair if anesthesia is administered incorrectly during dental surgery. Similar to medical malpractice suits, dental malpractice claims can also arise from diagnostic errors. You may have a suit when your dentist fails to recognize oral cancer, gum disease, or other conditions.
Have you suffered an injury during a dental procedure? Call Gay Chacker & Ginsburg Trial Lawyers today at 215-567-7955 or contact us online to schedule a meeting when our Philadelphia dental malpractice lawyer!
What Is Dental Malpractice?
Dental malpractice is any form of negligence on the part of a dentist or other dental professional that results in an injury, infection, or death due to their carelessness. This can include everything from performing surgery without informed consent to leaving instruments in a patient’s mouth after an extraction. In many cases, these errors can be prevented with proper care and attention.
Dental malpractice lawyers can help individuals recover compensation for their injuries, pain, and suffering by providing legal representation and filing lawsuits against negligent parties. They will also help ensure that negligent parties are held accountable for their actions so that similar mistakes are not repeated in the future. Additionally, they may be able to negotiate higher settlements depending on the severity of the injury caused by the malpractice.
With an experienced legal team on your side, you can seek justice and hold those responsible accountable for their actions while also recovering compensation for your losses.
Dental Procedures That Lead To Malpractice Lawsuits
Practically any kind of dental procedure can result in dental malpractice. Nevertheless, errors are made most frequently in the following operations:
- Root canals and other endodontic procedures
- Crown placements
- Tooth extractions
- Bridge treatments
- Dental injections
- Dental implants
- Orthodontics (braces, etc.)
- Oral surgeries
Unfortunately, you cannot file a dental malpractice claim just because you are unsatisfied with the results of a dental appointment. If you were injured during the appointment or the dentist failed to act with a standard level of care, however, you can and should consider a lawsuit.
Examples of Dental Malpractice
Even the slightest mistake by a dental professional can result in temporary or permanent injuries. Worse still, some dentists take advantage of their position to abuse patients.
The most common forms of dental malpractice are listed below:
- Fractured or broken jaw
- Nerve injuries
- Structural injuries to the tongue, jaw, chin, or lips
- TMJ
- Numbness
- Loss of taste/sensation
- Delayed diagnoses
- Failure to diagnose
- Improper treatment
- Misuse of dental tools and equipment
- Complications from crowns and bridges
- Failure to consider a patient’s medical history
- Undiagnosed/untreated oral cancer or periodontal disease
- Unnecessary tooth extraction
- Extraction of the wrong tooth
- Anesthesia errors
- Prescription errors
- Molesting a sedated patient
- Wrongful death
Our Philadelphia dental malpractice attorneys are experienced with these types of cases, and we understand how much these injuries and losses can affect your life.
What Is TMJ?
TMJ stands for Temporomandibular Joint Disorder, which can affect your ability to speak or eat properly. If you have TMJ, you will also experience pain in the joint that connects your jaw to your skull. There is no guaranteed cure for TMJ, and the treatments available are invasive and inconvenient. If your TMJ was caused by dental malpractice, you might require surgery, as the joint was likely knocked off-center by a dentist’s carelessness.
Contact our Philadelphia dental malpractice attorney today!
Case Study: Wisdom Teeth Extraction
Every year, approximately 10 million impacted wisdom teeth are extracted from 3.8 million people. About 1/3 of these people suffer permanent injury. Many times, so-called impacted teeth will grow into normal position without intervention, making the surgery largely unnecessary for a significant number of patients.
Most wisdom teeth surgeries can also be completed with a local anesthetic injection, but many of these procedures end in devastating general anesthesia injuries. If a dentist does not give you all the information before your surgery, they may also be making an extraction without consent.
What do you Need to Prove in a Dental Malpractice Lawsuit?
If you believe you have grounds to sue for dental malpractice, you will need to be able to prove one of the following:
- That the dentist failed to provide care in accordance with acceptable standards
- That the dentist intentionally committed an act in a specific situation that no other dentist would have done under the same circumstances
- The dentist provided treatment that exceeded the level of consent given
- That your injury was caused by the dentist’s negligence or incompetence
You may also need to show the existence of a dentist-patient relationship and establish the standard of care in certain situations.
Contact Our Dental Malpractice Lawyer Today
According to the Medical Practitioners Act of 2007, dentists are medical practitioners. They are obligated to perform dental procedures to a high standard. When you are injured or your quality of life has been affected by dental malpractice, you have the right to take legal action.
Gay Chacker & Ginsburg Trial Lawyers will file for compensation for your medical bills and related expenses. We thoroughly investigate the situation and conduct a detailed study of your dentist records. We also consult the best dentists in the field to study your situation before taking the case to court. Our Philadelphia dental malpractice attorneys have extensive experience working within the legal system and are accomplished litigators for our clients.
>Gay Chacker & Ginsburg Trial Lawyers today to schedule a FREE consultation with our dental malpractice attorney in Philadelphia!
