The majority of us are aware that should you have the misfortune to suffer an injury through no fault of your own, you are entitled to make a claim through your personal injury solicitor for compensation. The mainstream of personal injury claims are for road traffic accidents, injuries sustained at work, uneven pavements or substandard products bought for the home. But what if your injury was caused by your dentist?
Dentists must provide a ‘Duty of Care’ to their patients. This means explaining benefits and drawbacks of any treatment they recommend and alternatives that may be available and they must have your permission before any treatment is carried out. They must only carry out treatment which they feel they have the appropriate skills to undertake.
If this ‘Duty of Care’ is breached by the Dentist, the patient may be entitled to pursue a Claim for negligence, and as a rule is entitled to receive compensation.
Initial ‘Breach of Duty of Care’ reports can usually be produced based on a review of all relevant Dental Notes and X Rays without the need for an appointment, and therefore can be produced very quickly to establish whether a client has grounds for a claim against the Dentist in question.
If it appears that a claim for negligence can be established, compensation can then be calculated. The amount received will depend on a number of factors, including the length of injury or pain as a result of the treatment, any long term effects of the treatment, and the amount of any expenses incurred as a result of the claim. This can include the cost of any corrective treatment.
Pickworths personal injury solicitor Linsey Carroll has a particular specialism in Dental Negligence and has access to Dental experts who can provide reports very quickly to establish whether there is a valid claim for compensation.
For more information on Dental Negligence contact Linsey Carroll by emailing linsey.carroll@pickworths.co.uk |
