Can I sue my daughter's dentist?

[nesslo]

I live in California. A couple of weeks ago my daughter had a cavity filled. After the procedure my daughter's tooth was hurting and they told her this was normal. After a couple of weeks she was still in agonizing pain and returned to the dentist. After xrays and examniation they determined that the dentist drilled too close to the nerve and she now has to have a Root Canal. There was no decay or cracks or anything that would initially warrant a RC. Is it the dentist's fault? Can I sue him?

[ecmst12]

A sore tooth is normal. Agonizing pain is not and you probably should have returned sooner.

It is most likely that the decay was deep enough to potentially require a root canal from the beginning; he tried to do a regular filling to spare her the RC but it was unsuccessful. It is unlikely that he would have drilled deeper then the cavity required him to.

[barry1817]

Originally Posted by nesslo

I live in California. A couple of weeks ago my daughter had a cavity filled. After the procedure my daughter's tooth was hurting and they told her this was normal. After a couple of weeks she was still in agonizing pain and returned to the dentist. After xrays and examniation they determined that the dentist drilled too close to the nerve and she now has to have a Root Canal. There was no decay or cracks or anything that would initially warrant a RC. Is it the dentist's fault? Can I sue him?

You can sue, but you probably won't find a lawyer to take this case, and it will be your burden of proof that the treatment was negligent and caused the problem. That would mean you would need to have x-rays and photos to document that their wasn't enough decay to have created this problem.

Your costs for this would be the root canal and the crown which even at todya's fees aren't enough to warrant a lawyer's time.


You could ask for peer review, and you do have the potential for recovery of your fees from peer review.

You could ask for a complaint to the dental board, and they would review the case for you.

You could like so many that feel harmed, but the costs don't justify a lawyer taking your case, ask for national law coverage, instead of health care coverage so that people with problems can have a lawyer take their case. This is a little jest, but I am just frustrated with a legal system at this time that can't/won't take cases, but demands differently from other professions and makes the rules that never apply to themselves.

[You Are Guilty]

And how old is your daughter?

[nesslo]

My daughter is 18 years old. Her xrays indicate that there was no evidence of decay at all.
I'm not exactly looking to sue the dentist for his money, but would I at least be justified in demanding that we not be charged for the expenses of the root canal?

[ecmst12]

Ok your daughter is an adult. That means YOU can't sue for anything. SHE might be able to. But I still don't see any evidence of a case.

There must have been decay, otherwise why would she have needed a filling in the first place?

[islabebe]

a few months ago I went to a new dentist to get a check up. I had cavities. My dentist saw a cavity that i had that his fellow dentist needed to do for an exam at a dentistry school...i went to the school and the cavity that i was going there to get filled was a small cavity. well, the dentist that did the exam on me got the ok to do a different cavity instead. he took for ever just drilling away at my tooth...and then the novacaine started to wear off and it hurt every bad like he was drilling at my nerve. the examiners checked it after he was done and it hurts as they checked it. they let him fill it. then after made him take the filling out and put a temp in and the main examiner told me to go to my dentist and they would fill it for free. so went to my normal dentist and he put a permanent filling in it and sent me on my way. after that it was very sensitive to hot and cold and even to something as simple as the wind hitting in as i walked and talked. i thought nothing of it because its normal to be sensitive after a filling. but recently i started to have unbearable pain on the one side of my mouth and it just got worse. then i went to a new dentist and she took x-rays and said that my tooth is dying and i need a root canal. i spent 1200 dollars out of my own pocket on something that could have been prevented if they did their job the right way.

can i sue?

[lealea1005]

Originally Posted by islabebe

a few months ago I went to a new dentist to get a check up. I had cavities. My dentist saw a cavity that i had that his fellow dentist needed to do for an exam at a dentistry school...i went to the school and the cavity that i was going there to get filled was a small cavity. well, the dentist that did the exam on me got the ok to do a different cavity instead. he took for ever just drilling away at my tooth...and then the novacaine started to wear off and it hurt every bad like he was drilling at my nerve. the examiners checked it after he was done and it hurts as they checked it. they let him fill it. then after made him take the filling out and put a temp in and the main examiner told me to go to my dentist and they would fill it for free. so went to my normal dentist and he put a permanent filling in it and sent me on my way. after that it was very sensitive to hot and cold and even to something as simple as the wind hitting in as i walked and talked. i thought nothing of it because its normal to be sensitive after a filling. but recently i started to have unbearable pain on the one side of my mouth and it just got worse. then i went to a new dentist and she took x-rays and said that my tooth is dying and i need a root canal. i spent 1200 dollars out of my own pocket on something that could have been prevented if they did their job the right way.

can i sue?

You just hijacked another person's thread. Delete this post and start you own thread with your question.

[barry1817]

Originally Posted by ecmst12

Ok your daughter is an adult. That means YOU can't sue for anything. SHE might be able to. But I still don't see any evidence of a case.

There must have been decay, otherwise why would she have needed a filling in the first place?

Dentists, in dental mills, have been known to fill teeth that had no decay.

This becomes very interesting, in that if a tooth was treated that has no evidence of the need for treatment, that becomes negligence, malpractice, and in some instances has been called fraud.

that leaves this case up to a myriad of interesting scenarios to proceed with, once all information is in and justifies what the poster has stated.