Dental Negligence Claims Solicitors In Burnley

Dental Negligence Compensation Claims Solicitors in Burnley

All dentists are legally required to provide a reasonable standard of care for their patients at all stages of the treatment, spanning from the initial diagnosis, right through to the conduct of the dental procedures themselves. The law is very clear about what constitutes the appropriate level of care, due to the severity of the consequences patients can suffer from inappropriate or improper dental care.

If you’re suffering from painful or long-term repercussions of dental negligence in Burnley, you may be entitled to compensation. That’s where we can help here at Farleys Solicitors. We have more than 60 years of experience behind us, and our dental negligence claims solicitors have a wealth of specialised expertise in their field. That enables us to provide you with legal advice that’s clear, concise, and free from any unnecessary legal jargon. We are passionate about achieving the very best outcome for you.

What is Dental Negligence?

Dental negligence is classed as any instance in which a patent has suffered adverse effects to their physical health or overall wellbeing because their dentist has failed in their duty to provide a reasonable standard of care.

Dental negligence is sometimes known as dental malpractice or dentist malpractice, and may have occurred as a consequence of direct action, or inaction from your dentist. Examples of direct action include carrying out a carelessly-performed procedure, or even subjecting you to an entirely inappropriate procedure. Examples of inaction may include making you endure unnecessary delays to your treatment, or failing to adequately explain the risks of certain treatments in advance.

Failings of this nature can all-too-often result in especially painful consequences, and frequently have a significant effect on the patient’s quality of life. If your particular situation has incurred additional costs for you – such as having to pay for remedial dental work, or being forced to take time off from your job – then these costs may be factored into your claim.

Can I Make A Claim Against My Dentist in Burnley?

If you have good reason to believe that your dentist may have acted negligently in a way that has directly harmed your physical health or wellbeing, you will be able to make a claim against them. If the dentist works in a private practice, you’ll typically be able to bring a claim against them directly. If the negligence occurred in an NHS facility on the other hand, your claim will be brought against the NHS trust which manages it.

Dental malpractice claims in Burnley can be made against general dentistry practitioners, as well as specialists in a certain field, such as orthodontists or endodontists. We understand that initiating these claims can be a daunting prospect, so here at Farleys Solicitors, our dental negligence claims solicitors are here to make everything as simple and stress-free as possible, helping you understand your options at all stages.

How Long Do I Have To Make A Dental Negligence Claim?

Generally, you’ll have three years to make a claim for dental negligence in Burnley. This timeframe is measured either from the date at which the negligence occurred, or from the ‘date of knowledge’. This is a widely-used legal term, used to define the earliest point at which you became aware of a problem with your physical health or wellbeing.

Once this three-year timeframe has elapsed, typically you will no longer be eligible for a claim. There are a very few select exceptions to this rule, but on the whole, if you wish to pursue legal action, it’s best to get in touch as soon as possible so that we can establish your grounds for a claim.

Types of Dental Negligence Claims

There are many different types of dental negligence claims, many of which overlap with each other, so the list we’ve provided here isn’t exhaustive.

Generally though, if you’re suffering from prolonged pain or harm to your wellbeing due to one or more of the following, you may be able to claim compensation.

Incomplete or poorly performed procedures

If a procedure is carried out without the right preparation, specialised equipment, or appropriate level of care, it can have serious consequences. Some of the most common dental negligence cases we deal with involve procedures such as:

Root canals
Fillings
Tooth extractions (including wisdom tooth removals) where nerves and gums are damaged, or even in rare cases, the wrong tooth gets extracted
Failed implant treatment, or implant treatment that has caused damage to your mouth
Cosmetic dentistry procedures, such as the fitting of veneers, implants, bridges and teeth whitening

Types of injuries or adverse effects:

Dentist malpractice can often result in particularly intense or long-term pain (and in the most severe of cases, possibly even both). You may choose to bring a dental injury claim based on:

Nerve injuries, including the unnecessary severing of nerves
Extraction of the wrong tooth or teeth
Infection
Cracked or broken teeth
Damage to your gums
Damage to your jawbone

Diagnosis errors or failures

Like any medical professional, dentists have a responsibility to provide you with a prompt and efficient diagnosis, so that the appropriate treatment can be prescribed. Failures at the diagnosis stage could mean that you end up getting the wrong treatment, which could do you active harm. Diagnosis failures can take the form of:

Misdiagnosis
Delayed or missed diagnosis
Failed diagnosis (including periodontitis and oral cancer misdiagnosis)
Inadequate radiology or imaging

Informed consent issues

Dentists are legally required to obtain informed consent from their patient before initiating any treatment. ‘Informed’ is the operative word here – dentists must be proactive in ensuring that patients fully understand the risks and benefits before proceeding. Informed consent issues can arise from the following:

Failure to obtain explicit informed consent for a treatment
Failure to sufficiently explain the risks and benefits of that treatment
Failure to provide a treatment plan, preventative or oral hygiene advice
Failure to explain the alternative treatment options, along with their risks/benefits
Failure to communicate the costs associated with each treatment option
Failure to explain the potential consequences if no treatment is provided

Dental Negligence FAQ's

How Long Does A Dental Negligence Claim Take in Burnley?

Dentist malpractice claims can take anywhere from a few months to a few years to resolve. The specific timeframe is strongly dependent on a number of factors, chiefly the severity and complexity of the injury or harm in question. Our dental negligence solicitors have a history of efficiently resolving most cases within a relatively short timeframe, however bigger and more complex cases naturally tend to take longer to resolve.

How Much Can I Claim For Dental Negligence?

Compensation amounts can vary dramatically depending on a significant range of factors, so it’s therefore virtually impossible to provide even a rough idea of how much you can expect to receive, without knowing the specifics of your case. Our dental negligence claims solicitors will be able to provide a clearer picture once we’ve had a chance to sit down with you and understand more about the nature of your case.

When does dental treatment become a dental negligence claim?

During your diagnosis or treatment, if your dentist made an error serious enough to directly cause you harm, then you may have a claim for dental negligence compensation. This might be in the form of a mistake that’s exacerbated an existing injury or illness, or one that’s introduced an entirely new issue.

Wherever possible, our dental negligence solicitors at Farleys will pursue your case on a No Win, No Fee basis, minimising the financial risk involved.

Do I have a claim for dental negligence?

Dental negligence generally occurs during diagnosis or treatment. If your physical wellbeing or quality of life has been affected by any of the following, you may have a claim for dental negligence.

Periodontitis (gum disease) which your dentist has failed to correctly diagnose and treat within an acceptable timeframe.
Incorrect or inadequate fitting of implants, in which your dentist has made a serious mistake or oversight during the procedure.
Poorly-performed cosmetic procedures, such as veneers, crowns, bridges and teeth whitening.
Complications arising from tooth extraction procedures, which may have resulted in damage to the nerves and gums. (In especially rare cases, the wrong tooth may even have been extracted.)

It’s important to note at this stage that not every failed dental treatment necessarily means that your dentist has been negligent.

When you contact us with more specific details of your case, one of our dental negligence solicitors will be able to tell you whether or not you have a strong claim. Crucially, you’ll need to present tangible evidence that demonstrates that the negligence occurred, and proves the harm you suffered as a direct result.

How to prove dental negligence in Burnley

In order for your claim to be successful, one of our first steps will be to collect some key pieces of evidence to support your case, including medical records, independent medical assessments, and impartial witness testimony.

Obtaining your medical records can take anywhere between a few weeks to a few months, but they’re essential documents to help us establish the standard of treatment you received, and whether or not it was negligent. We’ll also need them to assess the impact of this treatment on your overall health, wellbeing, and quality of life.

For your claim to be successful, the collected evidence must prove the following:

Breach. You’ll need to prove beyond reasonable doubt that your dentist breached his or her duty by failing to provide treatment that adheres to the legally required standard of care.
Causation. Your evidence must clearly show that the dentist’s breach of duty directly caused you harm. If this link cannot be conclusively proven, you won’t be able to proceed with your claim.
Damages. You’ll need to provide proof of the existence, nature and extent of the harm that you’ve suffered because of your dentist’s breach of care. If the negligence in question didn’t result in actual harm, your dental negligence claim will be dismissed.

What can I claim for if I’ve suffered dental negligence in Burnley?

The consequences of dental negligence can be both severe and often long-term – it’s not unusual for the effects to last months or even years. In some cases, these consequences may even be permanent. Depending on the specifics of your case, therefore, you may be able to claim for the following:

Pain and suffering that you’ve endured
Loss of earnings, if you’ve been forced to take any time off work
Travel and living expenses, such as any costs incurred by adapting your car or home
Ongoing illness and recovery time
The costs of care, including compensation for any care and support from your family or friends
Medical expenses, such as physiotherapy, prescription charges and painkillers, or those associated with any corrective treatment or further procedures you’ve needed as a result