£4,500 awarded for the negligent loss of a tooth.

In December 2017, Mark unfortunately swallowed a permanent dental crown which had been fitted to his lower right 7^th tooth (LR7). This crown had been undisturbed for years.

Mark’s usual dentist decided to replace this lost permanent crown with a temporary one. But within 12 hours, Mark reported pain from his LR7 and began to feel very unwell.

He revisited the dental practice in a great deal of pain and was diagnosed with a severe infection. Unfortunately, the dentist hadn’t done the necessary checks of Mark’s LR7, otherwise he would have spotted the infection.

The dentist then opted to extract the whole of Mark’s LR7 tooth without exploring the alternative treatment options available. However, he only managed to remove half of the tooth, leaving the roots in situ. Mark was prescribed antibiotics and pain relief throughout Christmas until the referral clinic could see him, six weeks later, to remove the remainder of his LR7 tooth.

Mark believed malpractice had occurred and he found the Dental Negligence Team at RWK Goodman, after seeing reviews online, and presented us with his experience to see if we could help.

Mark was pleased with his representation from start to finish, he said:-

“My first point of call was Stephanie who assessed my case with her expertise and agreed to take my case on a no win no fee basis. I was over the moon. Stephanie immediately set my mind that Royds Withy King [now RWK Goodman] was worth trusting with my case.

Throughout the subsequent 18 months or so the majority of the work was handled by another Paralegal, Yasmine, who was brilliant. She answered every concern comprehensively and I was contacted regularly at each point in the claim to ensure clarity on both sides.

Stephanie was reassigned my case and oversaw my successful claim for damages, which I was ultimately glad to find closure on.”

We instructed a dental-legal expert who was supportive of Mark’s case and advised that his dentist had breached his duty of care by inappropriately treating him and not detecting an underlying infection. This directly caused Mark to suffer from prolonged pain and the unnecessary loss of his LR7 tooth, which could otherwise have been saved. Mark now requires a dental implant and implant retained crown in it’s place.

Once his case settled, Mark said:-

“At every point throughout my relationship with Royds Withy King [now RWK Goodman] I have felt supported and clearly advised. Nothing was too much trouble and I honestly could not have asked for better representation. I can’t thank them enough.”

Mark was awarded £2,000 for the prolonged pain and suffering he had experienced and the unnecessary loss of his tooth and £2,500 to cover the financial losses he had incurred. In total the award for compensation was £4,500.