Legal Question in Medical Malpractice in New Jersey
Dentist damaged mouth
In Jan 08, I went to dentist, who is my real dentists son out of dental school for about a year and his father appointed him my dentist. I had what I thought was a tooth ache, but was told I needed a root canal. Never had a root canal. He started working on the tooth area. I went back 2 times to get the canal finished. On second visit, he was working on the canal, and I heard him say ''Oh-Oh'', and was mumbling to his assistant (his wife) ''I'll get it, I'll get it''. I was thinking it's the root or something he was trying ''to get''. A few minutes later he said I was done, come back next week for the crown, and one more thing, I broke the tip of my drill bit in your root and couldn't get it out but you'll be fine. I thought it was unusual but he's a doctor so I trusted him. Currently the side of my gum where root canal was done has a bump, about the size of a large acne head which has become very sore in the last 18 months, gradually getting worse. If I press down on my cheek area where the bump is and canal is I get a very sharp pain. The pain comes on by itself a few a times month and my gums in that area look bad and bleed when I brush them. I haven't received a call from dentist for my 6 month checkup in 18 mos. Have a case? Thnx.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Dentist damaged mouth
You may. You need to see a dentist asap and determine the cause of your pain and see if anything was left behind. If it is a piece of his tool, I would say that you have a claim
Re: Dentist damaged mouth
You may have a case, but you have to act fast.
From a legal point of view you need to expeditiously resolve the issue of what is going medically. This attorney�s forum cannot advise you as to your choice of which health-care provider you should see to get your dental and/or medical issues resolved expeditiously.
From what you have said, you knew shortly after your treatment that there may have been a problem with the dentist�s work. This is important because it starts the clock on the two-year statute of limitations. An attorney taking this case would want to file suit, if that is appropriate, before January 2010.
In order to file suit, an attorney would need to decide how, if at all, you have been permanently damaged. This will require as much information as possible about how, you do, after appropriate treatment.
If you are interested in pursuing legal action against the dentist, you should be calling attorneys as soon as practical to see if you find one interested in taking this case. Most malpractice attorneys will speak with you over the phone for free to see if there is a case that they are interested in pursuing.
An attorney taking this case will also want to know what your health-care providers say about your problem.
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