During a dental visit, you rely on your dentist to make you feel better, help you look better, and keep your mouth and teeth healthy. However, inadequate care can cause serious damages, resulting in permanent injuries, substantial health care costs and untold suffering and loss. When you or a loved one is injured because of a dental provider in Houston, Cypress TX or in Corpus Christi, you need an experienced lawyer.
At Jones & Koch Law Firm, we understand the physical, emotional, and financial toll that negligent dental care takes on a patient. This extensive guide will cover the complexities of dental malpractice claims, who’s liable for the provider, and how our experienced malpractice attorneys can aid you get the compensation you’re entitled to.
What Constitutes Dental Malpractice?
Dental malpractice happens when a dental practitioner neglects to supply the level of care expected within the medical field, and the patient suffers as a result of this dental treatment. Standard of care would be the type of care which is provided by the typical reasonable dentist in a like situation. If the dentist does not adhere to this standard, he/she may be liable.
Just because a dentist’s work is unsuccessful doesn’t mean it’s a malpractice case. To have a dental malpractice claim, your lawyer will have to establish four things:
- Duty: The provider owed a duty to the patient.
- Breach: The dentist breached that duty by failing to meet the standard of care.
- Causation: The breach directly caused the injury.
- Damages: The patient suffered actual damages, such as medical bills, pain, suffering, or lost wages.
Our experienced dental malpractice attorneys are familiar with the intricacies of this area of law and understand just where to begin investigating your case, collecting evidence, and consulting with medical experts to establish liability.
Common Examples of Negligent Dental Work
Malpractice cases in dentistry can take many forms. Some of the most frequent dental malpractice claims our law firm handles include:
1. Failure to Diagnose Oral Cancer and Other Diseases
One of the most important responsibilities of a dental provider is to spot potential health threats during regular checkups. A misdiagnosis can have devastating consequences. When a dentist doesn’t diagnose oral cancer or advanced gum disease, it can be deadly. The delay of treatment can drastically reduce an individual’s chances of getting better.
2. Surgical Errors and Nerve Injuries
Some of the extraction processes, such as a tooth extraction or the insertion of a dental implant, demand accuracy. Simple slips and falls can lead to serious nerve injuries. Damage to the alveolar nerve and the lingual nerve is common. These lesions may result in permanent numbness, loss of taste, or a very painful tumor called trigeminal neuralgia. These devastating injuries can cause permanent disability and extensive future medical treatment.
3. Improper Endodontic Procedures
If a root canal fails, the infection can get quite bad, abscessed, and the tooth may fall out. If a dental treatment fails and requires reconstructive dental care, the individual who performed the original treatment is responsible for the reconstructive treatment.
4. Anesthesia Errors
When anesthesia is not administered properly, it could lead to traumatic brain injuries, heart issues or even death. These cases are of a complex nature, and rely on a thorough investigation to establish the provider’s failure to adequately monitor the patient.
Understanding the Overlap: Medical and Dental Law
There are many people who have never heard of malpractice dental or malpractice medical, and may be wondering the difference. In sum, medical malpractice and dental malpractice is both a subset and a subcategory of medical negligence. A medical malpractice dental claim is required to have the same burden of proof as a medical malpractice claim.
Even though some out-of-state law firms, such as New Jersey firms, may not be familiar with the particulars of Texas healthcare liability law, our local Houston, Cypress, and Corpus Christi lawyers are very familiar with the state’s tight statute of limitations and pre-suit notice requirements.
How Severe Dental Injuries Connect to Broader Personal Injury Claims
While our firm is highly sought after for our practice areas dental, severe facial and jaw trauma doesn’t exclusively happen in the dentist’s chair. In many cases, dental malpractice is just a small component of a larger legal case. Our breadth of home practice areas gives our legal team a broad knowledge level and understands medical damages and liability from a high level.
Understanding how different areas personal injury law overlap is crucial. For instance, a person who is involved in an auto accident or car accident or suffers serious injury in a truck accident or motorcycle accident may need emergency dental surgery after their teeth are broken or their jaw is fractured. If an injury to the mouth is significant, caused by a drunk driving accident, and you require an emergency dental appointment, it should be provided the same standard care. In the event that the treating dentist has made a catastrophic mistake, you might have a motor vehicle claim, in addition to medical malpractice and dental malpractice claims.
Our broader home practice equips us with the vast litigation resources needed to handle complex scenarios where dental injuries intersect with other forms of negligence, including:
- Premises Liability & Slip Fall: Facial injuries frequently occur when a victim trips on a hazardous street floor or poorly maintained property. If a property owner’s negligence led to your broken teeth, we hold them liable.
- Workers’ Compensation & Construction Accidents: We protect employees who suffer severe facial trauma on the job, ensuring they receive the funds necessary for reconstructive dental work.
- Nursing Home Abuse: Elderly residents are particularly vulnerable to dental neglect. Failing to maintain a resident’s oral hygiene or ignoring oral infections is a severe form of neglect that falls under our nursing home abuse and home abuse litigation. We also handle deeply sensitive cases involving physical or sexual abuse in care facilities.
- Product Liability: If a defective dental tool, toxic material, or faulty dental implant caused your injuries, we take on the massive manufacturing corporations responsible.
- Wrongful Death & Family Law: In the most tragic malpractice cases, an anesthesia error during a routine dental procedure can lead to a patient’s passing. We provide compassionate counsel for wrongful death claims and help families navigate any resulting family law and estate complications.
If you’ve been injured in an isolated car accident or have permanent nerve damage as a result of a botched root canal, you need advocates who know the entire range of injury law. We’re known for aggressive, but informed advocacy and our staff are recognized as super lawyers in their respective practice areas. With our team, you have the support of a team of professionals from a dental injury firm.
Why Choose Jones & Koch Law Firm?
Insurance companies are notorious for aggressively defending malpractice dental malpractice claims. They have teams of corporate lawyers dedicated to minimizing your payout or denying your claim altogether. You should never face them alone.
Our dental malpractice attorneys are deeply familiar with the tactics used by defense teams. We meticulously investigate every detail of your dental procedure to uncover the truth. From securing expert witnesses to negotiating fierce settlements, we handle every aspect of the litigation process so you can focus entirely on your recovery.
We take all malpractice cases on a contingency fee basis. This means you do not pay us a dime unless we successfully recover compensation for you. There is absolutely no financial risk to having our team review your case and advise you on your legal options.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is it worth suing for dental malpractice?
Absolutely, if you’ve been seriously hurt dental and need additional costly dental care or you have any ongoing pain from a dental injury, it’s well worth it to pursue a dental malpractice claim. It can help you recover damages for your physical and monetary losses, and also make the negligent providers liable for these damages, thus sparing future patients from suffering the same.
What is the average settlement for dental malpractice?
These cases are different and do not have an average settlement. The worth of your case relies on the seriousness of your injury, permanent damage that has occurred (such as nerve damage, trigeminal neuralgia, etc.), previous and future medical costs, and pain and suffering. In your free consultation, a dental malpractice attorney can provide you with a more accurate estimate in the context of your case.
How to win a dental malpractice lawsuit?
You have to prove that the dentist deviated from the standard of care and caused your injuries. It involves obtaining all dental records, employing qualified medical professionals to support you, and enlisting the services of experienced malpractice lawyers who will fight hard against your dentist’s insurance providers.
How much compensation for dental negligence?
The compensation amounts will be determined based on your economic damages (medical expenses, lost wages) and non-economic damages (pain, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life). Of course, if the injuries have resulted in catastrophic injuries or wrongful death, the amount of compensation will be significantly larger.
Dental malpractice lawyer near me?
If you are located in Houston, Cypress TX, or Corpus Christi, Jones & Koch Law Firm is your local, trusted choice. We understand the local courts, judges, and standard procedures required to move your case forward efficiently.
Dental malpractice lawyer free consultation?
Yes, we offer a completely free, confidential case review. We listen to your story, review your records, and determine the viability of your claim without any upfront costs.
Best dental malpractice lawyers near me?
Finding the “best” lawyer means finding an advocate with a proven track record, extensive resources, and a deep understanding of medical malpractice dental law. At Jones & Koch, we pride ourselves on being premier advocates for victims across Texas.
Contact a Corpus Christi Dental Malpractice Lawyer Today
Don’t let a negligent property owner, careless dental provider, or aggressive insurance companies devalue your injury claim.