How To Claim Compensation If A Dentist Pulled The Wrong Tooth
This guide tells you how to claim compensation after a dentist pulled the wrong tooth. If your dentist removed the wrong tooth during a tooth extraction procedure, you will have to prove that the dentist did not adhere to their duty of care, and due to this, you suffered harm that should’ve been avoided.
Firstly, we discuss how someone could go about making a compensation claim for dental negligence and what steps to consider. Then, we outline who could be eligible to make a dental negligence claim and explain what a dentist’s duty of care is.
Moreover, we detail the types of evidence that could be useful for proving medical negligence occurred. Additionally, we will discuss what effects you could be compensated for if your wrongful tooth extraction claim is successful. This guide also tells you why making a wrong tooth extraction claim on a No Win No Fee basis with a solicitor on our panel is beneficial.
You can talk to our advisors about your potential compensation claim by using the contact information below. Our advisors can provide you with free advice for your specific case, as well as answer any questions you may have about the claiming process.
Contact our team today via the following methods:
- Call 020 3870 4868.
- Enquire about your claim online by entering your details on our form.
- Message us in our live chat.
Jump To A Section
- How To Claim If A Dentist Pulled The Wrong Tooth
- Can I Sue A Dentist For Pulling The Wrong Tooth?
- Proving A Dentist Pulled The Wrong Tooth
- What Could You Claim If A Dentist Pulled The Wrong Tooth?
- Begin A No Win No Fee Wrong Tooth Extraction Claim
- Further Guidance On Dental Negligence Claims
How To Claim If A Dentist Pulled The Wrong Tooth
A dental negligence claim may be made against the NHS as well as against a private dental care service if a dentist pulled the wrong tooth. Typically, compensation claims for NHS dental negligence are handled by NHS Resolution, whereas compensation claims for private dental negligence are handled by the parties’ own liability insurance.
Here are some general steps on how to claim compensation if you had the wrong tooth extracted:
- Contact us to receive free advice for your dental negligence claim, including an eligibility case check.
- Ensure you are within the medical negligence claims time limit.
- Start to gather evidence by obtaining medical notes etc. We have a whole section further down this guide explaining what types of evidence you could collect.
Continue reading this guide to learn what eligibility requirements your case needs to meet in order to have a valid dental negligence claim. Additionally, you can contact our advisors with any questions you may have about the wrong tooth extraction claims process.
Can I Sue A Dentist For Pulling The Wrong Tooth?
All healthcare professionals, including dentists, owe a duty of care to every patient that they treat. To adhere to their duty of care, healthcare professionals must always deliver the correct standard of care that does not fall below the minimum expectation. If they did provide care that fell below this expected standard, this could cause you to suffer avoidable harm.
Here are a few examples of how a dental professional could deliver a standard of care that falls below the minimum expected standards:
- Procedural errors – The notes on your dental records were incorrect, which led to a healthy tooth being extracted.
- Poor diagnosis – The dentist associated your symptoms to the wrong tooth, therefore there was unnecessary surgery to a tooth that was fine.
- Distraction – During your procedure, the dentist was thinking about other tasks, meaning they were not fully paying attention, and the dental operation went wrong.
If a dentist pulled the wrong tooth, to be eligible to make a dental negligence claim, you must be able to prove the following:
- Show that a dental professional owed a duty of care.
- Prove that the dental professional breached their duty of care.
- Show how you have suffered avoidable harm as a result of this breach.
Together, these three factors form the basis of dental negligence.
To also have an eligible claim, you must begin making your claim within the medical negligence claims time limit.
Time Limits To Claim For The Wrong Tooth Being Pulled
The dental and medical negligence claims time limit is usually 3 years, as found in the Limitations Act 1980. These 3 years can commence from either the date you suffered dental negligence or the date you first became reasonably aware that you suffered dental negligence. This is known as the date of knowledge.
However, the standard time limit will be paused if the claimant is under 18 years old or lacks the mental capacity to be able to make a claim. For these instances, a litigation friend can begin the medical negligence claim on the claimant’s behalf while the time limit is paused.
Once the claimant turns 18, or if they recover their mental capacity, and a claim has not been started on their behalf by a litigation friend, then the usual 3-year time limit commences from this point.
Our team can give you more information about having an eligible wrong tooth extraction compensation claim and tell you whether you are within the limitation period to begin legal proceedings.
Proving A Dentist Pulled The Wrong Tooth
If you are eligible to make a dental negligence claim after a dentist pulled the wrong tooth, you could support your compensation claim by collecting as much supporting evidence as possible. Examples of this could include:
- Letters or emails that confirm your dental appointment.
- A copy of your dental records. This could state any harm you have suffered, such as nerve damage, the treatments you have received, and the correct tooth that should have been extracted. It may also include any x-rays you had taken of your teeth before and after the wrong tooth was extracted.
- Keeping a symptoms diary and recording what symptoms you have experienced, such as pain or difficulty eating.
- Note down witness contact details. If anyone witnessed your wrong tooth extraction, such as a family member or other dental professionals, noting down their contact information means that a legal professional could take a statement from them at a later date.
- Take photographs of the visible impacts of your avoidable harm.
A solicitor from our panel could help you collect evidence as part of their services. Speak with our team today to see whether you could potentially be connected with one of them.
What Could You Claim If A Dentist Pulled The Wrong Tooth?
There are up to two potential heads of claim which could make up your compensation settlement for a successful dental negligence claim. These are called general and special damages.
General damages is the head of claim that is always awarded when a dental or medical negligence claim is successful. General damages compensates you for the physical and mental health effects you have experienced from avoidable harm suffered due to a healthcare professional not adhering to their duty of care. Below are some factors that are taken into consideration when the value of general damages is being calculated:
- The severity of your pain.
- How long the recovery period is expected to be, and the extent of your treatment.
- The changes to your quality of life.
At some point throughout the claims process, you may be invited for an independent medical assessment. The results and medical reports from this independent assessment can be used to help calculate the value of your general damages head of claim.
The Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) can also be used alongside the medical reports to help. The JCG is a publication containing a range of physical and psychological injuries and illnesses, with guideline compensation values for each.
Guideline Compensation Table
In the provided table, you can find some of these guidelines from the JCG, apart from the top line. Please remember that no value can be guaranteed as each case is different and unique.
| Injury | Severity | Guideline compensation value | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple serious forms of harm plus special damages | Serious | Up to £100,000+ | An award for sustaining multiple serious forms of harm, plus their monetary losses such as medicine costs, additional dental work and lost earnings. |
| Fractures of jaws | Very serious multiple fractures (i) | £30,490 to £45,540 | Where prolonged treatment is needed and the consequences will be permanent, such as severe pain and paraesthesia. |
| Serious fracture (ii) | £17,960 to £30,490 | The consequences will be permanent, such as having difficulty in eating and opening the mouth. | |
| Simple fracture (iii) | £6,460 to £8,730 | Requiring immobilisation, however recovery will be complete. | |
| Damage to teeth (f) | Significant and chronic tooth pain | Up to £38,130 | The tooth pain will extend over numbers of years. And, the overall general condition of the teeth will be significantly deteriorated. An untreated abscess can be the cause of this. |
| Loss or serious damage (i) | £8,730 to £11,410 | To a few (more than two) front teeth. | |
| Loss or serious damage (ii) | £4,350 to £7,630 | To two front teeth. | |
| Serious damage or loss (iii) | £2,200 to £3,950 | Of one front tooth. | |
| Damage to or loss (iv) | £1,090 to £1,710 | To back teeth. The guideline compensation award is for each affected tooth. |
Additional Types Of Damages
Special damages is the second head of claim that may be included within your settlement. Special damages compensate for the monetary losses you had experienced due to the unnecessary harm you experienced when a dentist pulled the wrong tooth. Below are some types of monetary losses which could be compensated under special damages:
- Lost wages, for missed earnings while missing work due to your avoidable harm.
- Medical costs, such as prescriptions or additional dental treatments.
- Travel expenses, such as making your way to and from dental appointments for your avoidable harm.
It is vital to keep hold of what evidence you have of these monetary losses for a higher chance of receiving a special damages head of claim. So, keep any relevant receipts, bank statements, payslips, invoices, or travel tickets that you may have.
Contact our advisors to find out more about how much compensation could be awarded if you had the wrong tooth pulled by a dentist.
Begin A No Win No Fee Wrong Tooth Extraction Claim
Our panel of solicitors can offer their services under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) to those who have a valid dental negligence claim. This is a specific type of No Win No Fee contract.
While claiming with a solicitor from our panel under a CFA, you do not pay for their work and services unless your claim wins. This includes:
- Before the claiming process.
- Throughout the claiming process.
- If your claim is unsuccessful.
A success fee will be deducted from your compensation by your solicitor instead if your claim wins. This success fee is a percentage, which the law caps the maximum of.
Talk To Us About Your Dental Negligence Claim
To see if you could be eligible to work with one of the No Win No Fee solicitors on our panel for your dental negligence claim if a dentist pulled the wrong tooth, you can contact our advisors. As well as potentially connecting you with one of the solicitors on our panel, they could offer you free advice for your case and help answer your questions.
You can connect with them today via the following methods:
- Call 020 3870 4868.
- Enquire about your claim online by entering your details on our form.
- Message us in our live chat.
Further Guidance On Dental Negligence Claims
You can find further guidance regarding dental negligence claims by browsing our other guides:
- Read our tooth fracture compensation claims guide if you are suffering from a tooth fracture after a dentist pulled the wrong tooth.
- Find out how to claim compensation for delays in treatment due to medical negligence occurring.
- Discover what is classed as medical negligence and how else a medical professional could breach their duty of care.
You can also browse these external pages:
- NHS – what you can do if your NHS dental treatment goes wrong, including information on how to make a complaint.
- General Dental Council (GDC) – how to raise a concern about a dental professional.
- British Association of Oral Surgeons (BAOS) – learn about patient safety regarding oral surgery.
Thank you for reading our guide today on how to seek compensation after a dentist pulled the wrong tooth. Our contact services are live 24/7 and completely free to use should you have any questions about dental negligence and the compensation claims process.
