Mal-practice Question - Please Help

get a lawyer NOW and DEMAND that everything be done through the lawyer, dont speak to the dentist for any reason,
K. h.
i had a horrible dentist experience when i was a teenager, the dentist, not my regular dentist, came in, shut the door behind him, and then proceeded to "accidently" brush HIMSELF against my arm, after the third time of him trying "hump" my arm, i looked at him and said, "you want me to break it for you ?", he said"i didnt DO anything", i looked down at his "friend", and said, "you call THAT a d***?", he backed out of the door like his head was on fire ! it was funny! still is every time i think about it, even almost 30 years later !

It depends on what you want. Do you want to be reimbursed the costs of the failed procedures and have the fix paid for? In that case, it's very simple to go through the insurance company. They will likely just cut you a check to cover the failed procedures and the one that needs to happen to fix.

A word of caution (and I'm NOT saying you are looking for a payday!) you won't get anymore then that. He didn't lose anything serious (limbs, organs, functions, etc.) and it was for something that can be fixed rather easily. If you are looking for more then what is owed to cover procedures, you would be wasting you time. Also, I'd like to say it's pretty standard for a Dr. to hire an attorney. The attorney is likely on retainer for insurance and malpractice reasons. I would not be scared by that. The fastest way to settle a situation like this (for the Dr.) is to get the attorney to work out a settlement through insurance. It's pretty much just how it's done.

I'm sure the dentist did not hire the attorney. He turned it over to his med mal insurance carrier and it is being handled by an attorney for the insurance company.

At this point, you need to wait to see what position the attorney takes. If he is talking a settlement amount, you need to be sure that your son's dental problems are completely taken care of and that no residual problems are expected.

Once you know the exact cost of all work done and work that will need to be done because of this incident, then you are in a position to talk settlement. Settlement should be about 3 times the cost of the dental work plus any out-of-pocket expenses (tylenol, ice packs, whatever) and any lost wages you might have suffered because you had to take him to a new dentist.

When I was about 6 months pregnant I had a root canal done. It could not wait until I had my daughter. The first time, the dentist filled it, that failed. Then she tried to fill it again, that failed. Then we did the root canal, well, a piece of the drill snapped off in the canal of the tooth and she didn't tell me. It became infected. I got the infection under control until I had my daughter, then had it pulled out. For all that time I was in agonizing pain.

I contacted a couple attorneys and I was told that since it was a tooth, and not something permanent like a limb or something there really wasn't a case. I even asked my boss at the time who was an attorney and told me the same thing. The doctor's insurance company called me and they just gave me all my money back and the money I had to pay to have it removed. The attorneys explained it like this: Once the tooth is gone it's gone. It's not a missing leg, it's a missing tooth. There is no further treatment needed. I would not have to pay x amount of money for the rest of my life for my doctor's negligence, which is what you would sue for in a mal-practice case. There is no lasting injury and it's not causing me extreme distress. Is it annoying, yeah, but I had the tooth replaced with an implant. The tooth is gone, she paid to have it removed, that was it.

EDIT: Oops, I got caught up telling you my experience and didn't even answer the actual question! The insurance company was really easy to deal with. I just gave them the cost the oral surgeon quoted me to have it pulled and they cut a check. It was pretty easy. I didn't have an attorney or anything.

I would make sure that there is a record of this dentist to warn others. For some dentist that are not used to dealing with kids this kind of "holding down" seems acceptable. We were at our regular adult dentist for my daughter's very first cleaning - they had a "policy" that the parents could not be in the room while the hygienist was cleaning. I heard my daughter wailing from around the corner and when I peeked in I saw the hygienist slamming my 3 year old back into the chair while she hissed: "your mommy is not coming back until we are done!". I whipped her out of there so fast and we never went back. Instead we found a dentist where the hygienist let her SIT ON MY LAP since she had such a terrible experience the first time ( and all she did was count the teeth with her metal hook while my daughter watched in a hand mirror). So I would make sure that the Better Business Bureau hears about your experience, as well as calling you own insurance company to make a complaint about this guy. The fact that he continued when the anesthesia obviously did not work (or else the child would not have been screaming) is HORRIBLE. You should have all you costs covered, but also other parents should know to NEVER take their child to this guy again.
As others stated, the attorney is probably just the staff attorney for his malpractice insurance.
I am so sorry that you and your son had to endure this. You are justified in being RAGING MAD!

Please understand... I do not mean to sound mean or rude........

What are you looking for? Are you looking to sue? Looking for some big dollar settlement? What is the bottom line of what you want?

I would hope bottom line is to get your son's mouth corrected at no extra monies out of your pocket.

I've never heard of a Dr. contacting an attorney first. There is a reason he did that and it might be a good one.

Talk to the insurance company see what they can do to work with you.

If your son had that much trouble and had to be held down, it is understandable that he might have been a part of injuring himself. Maybe the next time he should be given the drugs that completely knock him out so the dentist can complete a quality job.

At most I think the dentist who had the problem with your son should recommend a new dentist and then you not be out of pocket for any more money. That is unless you are looking for a big dollar settlement. People are so sue happy... If I were you, I would not let it get to a jury because jury's are not that accommodating to people looking for high dollar settlements.

Best wishes to get your son back to good health.

Yikes. Your best bet would be to speak to an attorney to represent you. You are now playing with the big dogs if the insurance company and his attorney are involved. Good luck.

You DON'T want to deal with this without an attorney!

Yes-get a bigger attorney to deal with the deep pockets of the doctors insurance company.

W.: I would seek an attorney. Poor little guy, I am so sorry he had to go through that. He has damages and you have to pay to have it done again and he obviously suffered. See an attoreny, my advice, not one in Fallon :)

I would go to an attorney that would do this for part of the settlement then have him go for pain and suffering, truama, etc...what your child went through is why we only use a pediatric dentist and ONLY have dental work done in the out patient surgery center with general anesthesia. It is so much easier. I am so sorry he went through this. I would make them pay out the wahzoo.