Dental Negligence Claims Solicitors In Manchester

Dental Negligence Compensation Claims Solicitors in Manchester

Every dentist is legally bound to provide a reasonable duty of care to their patients, from the initial diagnosis right through to the conduct of any actual procedures. The law is very clear about dentists’ responsibilities at all stages of the treatment, in part because dental negligence can have long-term and sometimes particularly painful consequences. If you’re current dealing with persistent pain, or any other harmful effect on your wellbeing due to medical negligence in Manchester, you may be eligible for compensation.

That’s where we can help here at Farleys. With more than 60 years of experience behind us, we take care to provide clear and actionable legal advice in a friendly and straightforward manner, sparing you from all the unnecessary legal jargon. Above all, we’re passionate about achieving the best outcome for you.

What is Dental Negligence?

Dental negligence, or dental malpractice, is defined as any instance in which a patient has been subjected to avoidable or unnecessary pain or harm to their wellbeing, due to a breach of care by a dental professional.

This dental malpractice could have come about through a direct action, such as a careless mistake during a procedure, or through inaction, such as the failure to take proper precautions, or unnecessary delays to your treatment. Any of these can have severely painful consequences, and significantly affect your quality of life.

The most common type of dental negligence cases tend to take the form of dental injury claims. Your own claim may or may not include specific financial restitution for certain monetary losses that you might have incurred, such as the cost of additional remedial dental treatment, or compensation for any time you’ve been forced to miss from work.

Can I Make A Claim Against My Dentist in Manchester?

If you have reason to believe that your dentist has acted negligently in a way that’s directly affected your physical health or overall wellbeing, you’ll be able to make a claim against them. If the negligence occurred at a private practice, your claim will be brought against them directly. If it happened at an NHS facility on the other hand, you’ll be bringing the claim against the NHS trust that manages it.

Dentist malpractice claims in Manchester can be made against general dentistry practitioners, as well as specialists such as endodontists and orthodontists. Our dental negligence claims solicitors can help you get started on building the basis for your claim, once we’ve established your eligibility and the legal options available to you.

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

You have three years to make a dental negligence claim in Manchester, beginning from either the date of the incident in question, or from ‘the date of knowledge’. Legally speaking, this is defined as the earliest point at which you became aware of a problem with your health or wellbeing that could be directly linked to dental negligence.

Once this three year limit has expired, you’ll no longer be able to bring a claim. (NB: there are some exceptions to this rule, but they are very few and far between. Therefore, if you think you may be eligible for a claim, we’d always recommend initiating proceedings as soon as possible.)

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 Manchester?

By their nature, dentist malpractice claims in Manchester can take anywhere from a few months to a few years to settle. This timeframe is affected by the severity and complexity of the injury or consequences in question. With our decades of experience and wealth of specialist expertise, we’re well-practised at efficiently resolving smaller claims relatively quickly here at Farleys. However, the bigger and more complex the case, typically the longer it will take to fully resolve.

How Much Can I Claim For Dental Negligence?

Compensation amounts can vary dramatically from case to case, to the extent that it’s very difficult to provide you with even a rough estimate of how much you can expect to receive, without knowing the specifics of your case. Once we’ve had an opportunity to have a more detailed discussion with you about your circumstances, one of our friendly dental negligence claims solicitors will be able to give you a much clearer idea of what to expect.

When does dental treatment become a dental negligence claim?

During your diagnosis or treatment, if your dentist has made a mistake or misjudgement that’s directly caused or worsened an injury or illness for you, then you may have a claim for dental negligence compensation. Wherever possible, our dental negligence solicitors at Farleys will pursue your case on a No Win, No Fee basis, giving you complete peace of mind.

Do I have a claim for dental negligence in Manchester?

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

Periodontitis (gum disease) which has developed as a result of your dentist’s failure to correctly diagnose and treat it within an acceptable timeframe.
Incorrect or inadequate fitting of implants, where 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 led to damage of the nerves and gums. (In particularly rare cases, the wrong tooth may even have been extracted.)

It’s worth noting at this stage that not every failed dental treatment necessarily means that your dentist was negligent.

When you contact us with more specific details of your case, one of our dental negligence solicitors will be able to give you a more informed answer as to whether or not you have a strong claim. In order for this claim to be successful, it will need to be backed up by tangible evidence, so this will be one of our first priorities.

How to prove dental negligence

At the outset of your case, we’ll work with you to collect key pieces of evidence to support your claim. This includes medical records, independent medical assessments, and impartial witness testimony.

Obtaining your medical records is not always a particularly speedy process, and it can take anywhere between a few weeks to a few months. However, it’s a vital prerequisite for us to establish whether or not the treatment you received was negligent, as well as for helping us to assess the subsequent impact on your physical health, mental wellbeing, and overall quality of life.

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

Breach. Your evidence must show that your dentist breached his or her duty by falling short of the widely accepted standard of care.
Causation. A conclusive link must be established between the dentist’s breach of duty, and the harm you suffered as a direct result. If your evidence is insufficient to prove this direct link, you won’t be able to proceed with your claim.
Damages. You’ll need to be able to prove (beyond reasonable doubt) the existence, nature and extent of the harm you suffered as a result of your dentist’s breach of care. If the negligence in question didn’t cause you direct harm, your case will almost certainly be dismissed.

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

The consequences of dental negligence can take a severe toll on your physical and mental health, and it’s not unusual for the effects to continue over the long term, over months or possibly over years. (Some consequences, sadly, can even be permanent.) In light of this, depending on the background and specifics of your case, you may be able to claim for the following:

Pain and suffering you’ve endured as a result of this negligence
Loss of earnings if you’ve had to take time off work
Travel and living expenses, including the costs of adapting your car or home
Ongoing illness and recovery time
Costs of care, including compensation for any care and support you’ve been provided by family or friends
Certain medical expenses you may have incurred, such as physiotherapy, prescription charge and painkillers, or costs arising from necessary corrective treatment or further procedures you’ve undergone