Dental Negligence Claims

Dental negligence covers a wide range of conditions and includes an injury caused in the course of dental treatment, the deterioration of a dental condition by your dental practitioner’s failure to treat or incorrect treatment of the condition.

The main areas of dental negligence include:

• a delay in diagnosis or an incorrect diagnosis;
• nerve injury claims;
• cosmetic dentistry claims;
• restorative dentistry errors;
• misdiagnosis of periodontal disease;
• misdiagnosis or failure to treat that leads to the loss or damage of multiple teeth;

The typical steps in a dental negligence claim

• We will investigate every minute detail of your case and from there we will build your case by obtaining all of your medical records, taking full witness account from you and we will consultant the best experts in their field to give an opinion on whether negligence arose in your care or treatment.
• We will contact the relevant hospital or doctor advising them that we believe there was negligence in your care and treatment and asking them to admit liability.
• We will serve proceedings on the relevant medical institution or doctor and ensure that they reply to your claim in a timely manner with full details of any defence that they wish to make.
• We will represent your claim in the courts robustly to secure the appropriate level of compensation for your injuries.

Our experience in dental negligence claims

Our experienced team at McElhinney & Associates Solicitors have worked on various types of dental negligence claims over the years ranging from the simple to the most complex. We have developed an expertise in the area and so we know how to prepare and progress your claim to achieve the optimum level of compensation.

What level of compensation will I receive for a dental negligence claim?

The level of compensation payable to you is directly related to the level of injury and trauma that you suffered together with the impact that the negligent treatment has had on your quality of life. Compensation is usually broken down into two parts:

1. General damages. This is compensation for the pain and suffering that you have endured to date together with the likely pain and suffering that you will endure into the future.
2. Special damages. These are items of expenditure and financial loss that you have incurred up to the date of the court award and possible likely future financial losses, for example the cost of any private treatment, medication, aids and appliances, loss of earnings to date, loss of earnings into the future, the cost of any ongoing care and treatment required.

How long to I have to make the dental negligence claim?

Any person who wishes to pursue a claim for medical negligence through the courts must do so within 2 years of the mistake being made or 2 year that they had knowledge that a mistake was made.

If your loved one has passed then the matter proceeds as a fatal injury claim.

Once proceedings are issued the case can take approximately, 2-3 years to come before the courts for hearing, depending on the complexity of the case, the number of experts that are required together with the defence delivered by the healthcare provider to your claim.

Early legal assistance can be vital as the time limits for bringing an action are very strict therefore, if you believe that you have suffered as a result of substandard care then you may be able to make a claim for compensation against the hospital in question and we are happy to have an initial consultation with you where we will give you an initial assessment and advise you of your options.

If you believe that you have had substandard dental treatment you should contact the solicitors at McElhinney & Associates Solicitors and we can advise you on your options and lead the way if any litigation is to follow.

We are available to take your call or answer your email so please do not hesitate to contact us on 07491 75989 or 0187 17571 or complete our online enquiry form or email us at admin@mcelhinneyassociates.com.

* in contentious business a solicitor may not calculate fees or charges and the percentage or proportion of any award or settlement.