Instructing Dental Experts in Your Legal Claim

Dental negligence claims, like all claims in clinical negligence, must be supported by medicolegal expert evidence. Whilst we run your claim and deal with the legal matters, we are not dental professionals and as such we will need the opinion of dental experts to support your case.

The starting point

At the start of your claim, once we have received all your dental records, the next step is to approach an expert who will prepare a report. You may wonder how we select the right expert for your case. The specialism of the expert will depend on the Defendant dentist whose treatment we are investigating. For example, if you received substandard treatment from your general dentist then we would instruct a Consultant General Dental Practitioner, or if you had substandard braces then we would instruct a Consultant Orthodontist. This is because only an expert in the particular field in question can comment on how a reasonable practitioner in that field would have treated you.

We will also consider the location of the expert. It may be that they will need to examine you in person at a later stage, in which case we would try to locate an expert near to where you live or within a reasonable travelling distance.

All of the dental experts we instruct are highly experienced and reputable. We have worked with a number of our experts for many years, with long-standing relationships and trust that they will do their absolute best for our clients.

When instructing an expert, we write a detailed letter setting out the background of the treatment you underwent. All your dental records and radiology will also be sent for the expert to review. We ask for their views generally on the standard of care you received and also ask a number of specific questions – e.g. was there a failure to take regular x-rays, was the filling/implant/crown negligently fitted, was the patient appropriately consented, and how would the outcome have been different in the absence of negligence?

The Legal Tests

To bring a successful claim for negligence, we have to establish both liability and causation. Liability means that your treatment fell below the standard of a reasonably competent dentist practicing in the relevant field at the relevant time. Causation means that there must be a link between the substandard treatment and the injury you have suffered. Both elements of this test must be satisfied. In other words, it is not sufficient to show that the treatment was negligent, it must also be shown that this treatment caused damage. Equally, it is not enough to prove that the treatment caused your injury, if the treatment cannot be said to be negligent.

The expert we instruct will provide a report dealing with liability and causation. This report will determine whether your claim is likely to be successful or unsuccessful. If the expert is supportive of both liability and causation, we will be able to progress your claim and present our allegations to the Defendant and see how they respond.

Condition and Prognosis 

It is likely we will then require a further report dealing with your condition and prognosis. We may instruct a different expert for this, or it may be done by the same expert who provided the liability and causation report.

To form their opinion on your condition and prognosis, the expert will likely need to arrange an in-person examination with you. We will try to instruct an expert as close to your location as possible, but you will need to make your own travel arrangements to attend the appointment. You will not have to pay for expert reports or examinations, these costs are met by us on your behalf. Please note, however, that if you fail to attend an expert appointment you could become directly liable to pay any cancelation or non-attendance fees. The examination should take between 30 minutes to 1 hour.

The expert will assess the current state of your dentition and your likely future prognosis, e.g. the longevity of your teeth, whether any teeth will be lost and the treatment you now require as a direct result of the negligence. This information will be detailed in the condition and prognosis report, which will also include a recommended treatment plan for you with the likely costs. This report will help us to quantify your claim; we can then advise you on how much your claim is likely to be worth and make an offer of settlement to the Defendant.

If you would like to know more about the procedure of bringing a dental negligence claim, have a look at the information on our website and feel free to contact us.