Visitor Question

Suing My Dentist for Unethical Behavior and Poor Work…

Submitted By: A (Sacramento, CA)

My dentist overcharged me for work done on my son, daughter and myself. Instead of repaying me the amount I overpaid, he decided without my consent to do extra work on my son. He didn’t inform me when he did this and also collected money from my insurance.

Also, after I paid him $820 to get a crown made for my molar, a year later he told me the crown was made wrong and had to be redone. After destroying a perfect crown he replaced it with a crown that didn’t fit. This new crown slowly destroyed my tooth, killing the root. I then needed a root canal and another new crown. This 3rd crown was also made wrong.

Finally a 4th crown was made, but I recently discovered that this crown has a chip / fracture. I noticed this 4th crown felt weird, but didn’t know about the fracture until 3 months after it was made.

I am suing my dentist for damages to my son and damages to my tooth/crown. My question to you is, can my dentist sue me for loss wages when we go to court? Do you have any extra info which may help in my case against this dentist? Thanks.

Disclaimer: Our response is not formal legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. It is generic legal information based on the very limited information provided. Do not rely upon the information in our response, or anywhere else on this site, when deciding the proper course of a legal matter. Always get a personalized case review from a local attorney.

Answer

Dear A,

Your dentist cannot sue you for his lost wages. Doing so would have to be part of a “counter-claim”. Under the facts you present that would hardly be likely.

Your only problem might be what is called “mitigation of your damages”.

That means if you knew the dentist was continuing to do shoddy work, and you continued to see him instead of changing dentists, the court may want to know why. That also doesn’t seem like it will be a problem for you, as it seems you trusted him each time to rectify his apparent shoddy work.

Make sure you have as much information as you can document. That would include any bills you received and copies of your dental records. You have a right to copies of them. Make a written demand for your bills and records. If the dentist doesn’t comply you can apply to the court for a subpoena “duces tecum” – that’s a subpoena ordering the dentist to make the records available to you either before or dung the court hearing.

Also sit down well before the court date and write a detailed chronology of everything you remember, from the first time you visited his offices until the present day. When in court present your evidence carefully and in a cogent manner. The facts alone should be sufficient for you to prevail in the case.

Learn more here: Filing a Dental Malpractice Lawsuit

The above is general information. Laws change frequently, and across jurisdictions. You should get a personalized case evaluation from a licensed attorney.

Find a local attorney to give you a free case review here, or call 888-972-0892.

We wish you the best with your claim,

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