Legal Question in Medical Malpractice in Georgia
Dental Malpractice
In Apr 2002, porcelain crowns were placed on 5 of my lower teeth after endo & buildup tx. was completed on them. During my 2 wk follow-up, I expressed concern over 4 of them to my dentist - 2 seemed short & appeared to have open margins while 2 others seemed long & had overhanging margins which caused gum irritation. He said they looked fine. A month later, one came off & he re-cemented it.
This has happened repeatedly since then. Two have come off once, one has come off 7 times, & another has come off 4 times. Two came off with the entire core buildups still cemented inside them. Each time, he re-cemented them. As this cycle continued, I began having severe pain in my teeth & gums & noticed that my bite seemed to be changing. After informing him of this, he still did nothing more than re-cement them when they came off. My final visit with him was in Aug 2003.
In Sept 2003, I requested copies of all my dental records, but they didn�t comply. I saw another dentist in Oct 2003 who found 3 periapical abscesses, 2 of which were in crowned teeth. Both will have to be extracted along with 5 others he placed composites in. The other 3 buildups & crowns have to be redone. I feel devastated. Do I need to consult an attorney?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Dental Malpractice
Yes, you should consult with an attorney. It sounds like malpractice to me. You will need to get an affidavit from a "witness competent to testify" (i.e., another dentist) that the first dentist committed at least one act of negligence. See Ga. Code Ann., � 9-11-9.1 which you can find at http://www.legis.state.ga.us/cgi-bin/gl_codes_detail.pl?code=1-1-1 I use a paid subscription to westlaw.com and therefore don't know how user-friendly the site I just gave you is.
Related Questions & Answers
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
