Restoration Blamed for Pain, Restricted Tongue Movement

The patient, a woman in her early sixties, had been undergoing tooth restoration treatments when she was evaluated by the defendant dentist. One of the dentist’s employees had begun the treatment process, and then left the practice, so the defendant dentist took over the process. The treatments included extractions and implantation of bridges. 

After the dentist took over the patient’s treatment, the patient began to develop severe pain that lasted throughout the remainder of her treatment. 

The patient filed a lawsuit against the dentist alleging that the dentist’s treatment caused misalignment of her jaws, which caused her pain, tired her jaw muscles, and restricted movement of her tongue. The patient claimed the dentists did not evaluate her properly before starting remainder of the treatments to see if any other options would work better. 

The dentist asserted that she properly treated the plaintiff, and that she was under no obligation to explore alternative treatments. The dentist maintained the patient did not immediately report any pain, and it was not consistent. The dentist also noted that the plaintiff stopped undergoing treatment before it was finished. 

At the end of the trial, a $250,000 verdict was returned in favor of the patient. 

With permission from Medical Malpractice Verdicts, Settlements & Experts; Lewis Laska, Editor, 901 Church St., Nashville, TN 37203-3411, 1-800-298-6288.