Types of dental negligence

Blog submitted by Dane Levy Attorney of www.Dentalmal.com, a provider of legal services for those injured by dental malpractice in California

Have you recently undergone a dental procedure that you believe has caused you harm in one way or another? There is a possibility that you are a victim of dental malpractice. Dentists owe their patients a standard of care and anything that violates that is a good candidate for a malpractice claim. Before you call a dental malpractice attorney Los Angeles, look through the list below of common instances of dental negligence and see if your situation is similar:

Delayed diagnosis

This is probably the most common complaint. If the dentist fails to diagnose or delays long enough to cause an avoidable complication, then it goes as a delayed diagnosis. Often, we only find out later that something is avoidable, and it might be too late.

Misdiagnosis

Another example is when the dentist misjudges a problem or falsely diagnoses an issue. When this misdiagnosis leads to symptoms or worsening health, then this is a potential candidate for malpractice.

Substandard work

In the case of substandard work, the dentist needs to fail to meet a certain standard of treatment. A few examples: Bad fillings, crowns, or root canals, or pulling out the wrong tooth, or badly fitted dental implants.

The general advice is to proceed with the negligence claim as soon as possible. It can take months for your lawyer to gain access to your records, and then provide those to another expert to confirm negligence. Also, in most cases, you will need to show actual harm and financial distress to make a claim.