Legal Question in Consumer Law in Pennsylvania

Re: Bad Dental Work

(PREFACE: WHEN CONTACTED BY AN ATTORNEY, YOU SHOULD SEEK PERSONAL LEGAL REPRESENTATION IMMEDIATELY. I do not practice in your geographic area, but many good attorneys on this site do. Please give one of them a call before you talk to the dentist or the dentist's attorney again.)

You asked if you are liable for $511.00 for the defective dental appliance. The answer is "maybe". Here is why I say that: 1) it appears that the dentist realized that the work was not perfect and he tried to compromise on the original balance of $1200; 2) you do not say how badly chipped the replacement tooth was-- was it a small chip on the back of the tooth, or a large chip on the front of the tooth? 3) did you insist on having the dentist replace the appliance with a new one (at his or the lab's expense), or did you keep the one that he put in your mouth?

Obviously, he shouldn't be expected to give you a $1200 appliance for free, so the question becomes where this was left after the fourth attempt to fix the appliance. Did you just drift off into the sunset and not bring it up anymore for a year or more? Did you continue to complain and he just refused to adjust it any further? How much time passed since the last time he tried to adjust it? These are the facts that a judge will evaluate when he is deciding whether you were trying to make a good faith attempt to resolve this, or merely trying to get away with a freebie. If you have retained the appliance, he may decide that you are liable for some amount of money.

One other thing that a consultation with a lawyer will uncover is whether you have any counterclaims against the dentist (e.g., for repair work to damaged teeth, etc.). Good luck.