The patient in this case was a 73-year-old male with a history of total laryngectomy five years prior for squamous cell carcinoma. The patient had been a patient of the defendant dentist and dental practice for two years, for dental issues including pain in his mouth and sores.
 
The patient’s dental condition continued to deteriorate to the point that the interior of his mouth was so sore he was no longer able to wear his dentures. Despite the patient’s complaints of discomfort, the dentist failed to perform any biopsies, provide any treatments, or refer the patient to any dental specialists for evaluation.
 
After two years without notable relief to his discomfort, the patient eventually sought a dental specialist’s consultation on his own. Upon evaluation, the patient was immediately found to have a “massive hypermetabolic neoplasm, floor of the mouth, involving the tongue, mandible and overlying skin measuring at least 6x4x4.5x4.6cm, consistent with known malignant neoplasm”. A biopsy performed a few weeks later confirmed this diagnosis.
 
As a result of the late diagnosis of the patient’s cancer, he succumbed to it and died a year and a half after he was first diagnosed.
 
The patient’s surviving spouse, the plaintiff, filed a lawsuit against the dentist and dental practice, alleging that the dentist was negligent in failing to provide adequate and proper care, failing to properly monitor, assess and diagnose the patient at each visit, and failing to perform the proper diagnostic tests or refer the patient out to diagnose this cancer earlier.
 
The case settled for an undisclosed amount in favor of the plaintiff in mediation.
 
Case study reproduced with permission from Medical Malpractice Verdicts, Settlements & Experts; Lewis Laska, Editor, 901 Church St., Nashville, TN 37203-3411, 1-800-298-6288.

 
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