Can I Sue My Dentist for Bad Dental Work?

Our dental malpractice attorneys in Miami are here to help you when you’re the victim of a dental procedure gone wrong. The skilled legal team at Bernstein & Maryanoff know that dental malpractice can change your life with devastating injuries. If you’re hurt because of dental work, we want to help you get the compensation that you need to rebuild your life.

Dental Malpractice Attorneys in Miami

You’re enjoying a nice day. You have errands to run, and your tasks for the day include a stop for a routine dental procedure. It never crosses your mind that something could go horribly wrong. Before you know it, you leave the dentist’s office worse than when you started. Your injuries may take months or years to heal if they ever heal. You have pain, but few answers. Even if you don’t know it, you may be the victim of dental medical malpractice.

Does Dentistry Malpractice Count for Medical Malpractice Under Florida Law?

Yes, dentistry malpractice counts as medical malpractice for the purposes of compensation under Florida law. If you’re hurt by dental malpractice, you have the same rights to recovery that any other victim has according to the laws in Florida.

A dentist is a trained medical professional. Both they and their assistants must provide competent care according to professional standards. When your dental professional fails to give you the competent care that you deserve, you have a right to recover compensation based on Florida’s medical malpractice laws.

What Do I Have to Prove to Win a Case for Dental Malpractice in Florida?

To win a case for dental malpractice in Florida, you must show that your dentist acted negligently, recklessly or intentionally in a way that caused you physical injuries. Most dental malpractice claims are based on negligence. Negligence is a failure to exercise ordinary care that falls below the standard of what a regular, competent dentist should use in the same circumstance. There are four elements of a dental malpractice case:

A Duty to Provide Competent Care to the Patient

A dental malpractice case begins by looking at the duty the dentist has to the patient. In a dental care case, this element is almost always satisfied by the fact that there’s a physician-patient relationship between the dentist and the patient. Because the dentist is there to treat the patient, they have a duty to provide reasonable, competent, professional care. If you’re hurt by dental care, you can almost certainly prove a duty of care on the part of the dentist.

A Breach of the Duty to Provide Reasonable Care

Once you establish that the dentist has a duty of care, you must show that the dentist breached the duty of care. You need to show that their care fell below professional norms. A dentist doesn’t have to be perfect, but they must do a competent job managing all aspects of your care. Dental malpractice isn’t just a bad outcome. It’s the harm that results because your care provider makes unacceptable errors.

The reasonable care standard is based on professional norms in your area. If you’re hurt by dental malpractice in Miami, the law looks at what dentists know and what they should do in the Miami area. To prove your case, you look at what a competent dentist should have done in the same situation. If the dentist should have done a better job with your procedure or if the doctor could have made a better diagnosis based on reasonable, local medical standards, you’ve satisfied this element of the claim.

A Causation Link Between the Inadequate Care and Your Injuries

Even if your dentist commits malpractice, you don’t have a claim for medical malpractice unless the breach in care results in harm. It’s not enough that your doctor’s care breaches professional standards. There’s got to be a link between your injuries and the dentist’s failure to provide sound care.

Physical Injuries or Financial Damages

Finally, you must show that you have injuries or financial losses because of the care that you receive. You may have physical pain, a loss of feeling or tingling in your face or broken teeth. It might be necessary to have even more medical procedures to correct the harm. If you need more medical care because of bad dental treatment, you probably have increased medical bills and maybe also lost wages, too. You may be able to claim economic damages as well as damages for pain and suffering.

If all of these facts are present in your case, you may have a claim for dental malpractice.

How Can a Dental Malpractice Lawyer Help Me?

If you have a claim for dental malpractice, our experienced Miami dental malpractice attorneys can help you maximize your compensation under Florida law. There are steps that you need to take to pursue your claim. Florida’s medical malpractice system is quite complex. You must provide formal notice to your dentist before you file your claim in the court. There’s only a short period of time to take action.

With our Florida dental malpractice attorneys by your side, we can work on your behalf to take the right steps to pursue your claim. We can help you understand the law. Our team works tirelessly to ensure that you make a full claim for everything that you may deserve under Florida law. We take your case seriously, and we don’t stop until you have the compensation that you deserve.

Contact Our Miami Dental Malpractice Lawyers

Have you been hurt because of a dentist that was supposed to help you? Dental malpractice is medical malpractice, and you may have the right to financial compensation. Our experienced malpractice lawyers have helped thousands of deserving clients just like you.

At Bernstein & Maryanoff we are dedicated to helping you protect your rights. Call us today for a complimentary meeting about your case. We can answer your questions and discuss your options to get fair relief when you’re the victim of dental malpractice.