£142,674.20 awarded for failing to diagnose cancer of the mouth and refer the Claimant for treatment

The case related to the failure to diagnose cancer of the mouth and refer the Claimant for further treatment as well as the provision of negligent dental treatment in the form of poor restorative treatment and a failure to diagnose and treat periodontal disease.

The Deceased was a regular attender with the Defendant, and sadly passed away in 2018 from metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the mandible.

Despite regular visits, the Defendant failed to diagnose the Deceased’s periodontal disease which led to the loss of multiple teeth and also led to a hopeless prognosis for multiple additional teeth.

Further to this, in September 2015 the Deceased started to suffer discomfort in her lower right side of her jaw and the Defendant advised the extraction of one her teeth to try and ease the pain. For some months further, the Deceased continued to experience discomfort and attended with the Defendant twice more to see if he could identify the problem with her jaw. No x-rays were carried out at these appointments.

The Deceased contacted her GP in early 2016 and they thought it might be trigeminal neuralgia. The Deceased attended a further appointment with the Defendant and was prescribed antibiotics and it was not until April 2016 that an x-ray was carried out. This showed a large sinister radiolucency on the right side of the mandible and revealed that the extraction site had not healed at all.

The Deceased was subsequently referred to a maxillo-facial expert at a local hospital. Following the appointment, the expert immediately contacted the Deceased’s GP and arranged a fast-track appointment at another local hospital.

The Deceased attended a further appointment having been fast tracked, and thereafter underwent further tests including two biopsies. The results of the biopsies were that the Deceased had mouth cancer and she was diagnosed with carcinoma of the lower right jaw.

Following the diagnosis, the Deceased underwent invasive treatment including surgery and a bone graft, as well as radiotherapy following the surgery.

Unfortunately, in May 2017 the Deceased was advised that the treatment had been unsuccessful, and the cancer could not be cured. The only other option was an 18-week course of chemotherapy. This was subsequently commenced, but after 9 weeks of treatment it became clear that it was not effective and further treatment was cancelled.

The Deceased was provided with palliative care and sadly passed away in early 2018.

The Deceased had previously expressed her regret that the Defendant had not picked up on this matter sooner as their failure to do so had led to risks and problems with treatment given the cancer was at a late stage.

There was a complaint made by our Client to the General Dental Council (GDC) and they concluded that the Defendant had failed to adequately investigate or diagnose the non-healing of the extraction site and failed to ensure that a prompt referral for an Oral Surgery opinion when it was recognised that an urgent referral was required. They also concluded that appropriate x rays of the Deceased’s jaw at an earlier time might have allowed earlier recognition of the radiopacity developing.

Naomi represented our client and entered into settlement negotiations between September 2021 to January 2023. Court proceedings were issued, and the case settled for £142,674.20 in January 2023.

If you are concerned that you have experienced negligent dental treatment, please speak with our specialist team today to find out if you are eligible for compensation.