Woman who suffers broken jaw after wisdom teeth extraction loses medical malpractice case

A woman in North Carolina went to a dental practice in October 2016 and was told she needed to her a wisdom tooth extracted. The following month in November 2016 the woman had the surgery performed by an oral surgeon in North Carolina. During the procedure the dentist had difficulty and required the assistance of another dentist at the dental practice. Substantial pressure was placed on the woman’s jaw during the surgery. The dentist told the woman after the surgery that a small piece of bone in her jaw had broken during the surgery. However, the dental records of the two dentist for this visit said ” a “[l]arge portion of [the] left maxillary tuberosity fractured off with [the] tooth during extraction . . . “ After the surgery the woman experienced intense pain throughout her face and jaw. She … Read more

Federal Legislation to Limit the Amount of Money Recoverable From Medical and Dental Lawsuits Harms Patients

Wisdom teeth surgery is often performed in young adults in their late teenage years or twenties and results in up to 10% of all cases complications. Some of these complications can be life altering and either prolong for a long period of time or be permanent. Sometimes patients feel as if they have been wronged by their doctor and file a lawsuit. However, many might be surprised to know that a single liability insurance OMSNIC insures the vast majority (over 80%) of all oral and maxillofacial surgeons in the U.S. and that the vast majority (over 90%) of such lawsuits are found in favor of the oral and maxillofacial surgeons. As a result of this very few patients recover money after filling a lawsuit. To make matters worse many states in the U.S. including California and Texas have laws that … Read more

Exploring the Alternative to Medical Injury Claims in New Hampshire

In a post last year I dicussed briefly the early offer system in New Hampshire see The Optional Alternative to Medical Injury Claims. This is the first of the kind system in the United States that is an alternative to the traditional medical malpractice system. An article in the 2013 issue 4 of the American Journal of Law and Medicine has explored this titled “Evaluating New Hampshire’s First-In-The-Nation Early Offer Alternative to Medical Malpractice Litigation,” and written by John W. Masland. The article states “Many states have enacted medical malpractice reforms, recognizing that their tort systems result in protracted litigation, high costs, and a large number of uncompensated victims. One proposed reform, an “early offer” system, allows a medical provider to make a financial offer covering an injured patient’s economic damages, which, if the patient accepts, precludes litigation…On June 27, 2012, … Read more

The Optional Alternative to Medical Injury Claims

Previously on this blog I have discussed some of the issues with medical malpractice in the United States and some potential alternatives. In this post Potential Alternatives to the Current Medico-Legal System in the United States I talk about some possible alternatives such as having some agreement directly with the physician and hence avoiding trial lawyers. In this provocative post How to Improve Your Chances to Win a Dental Malpractice Lawsuit I discuss the 4 elements you need to win a malpractice suit in the U.S. and a possible suggestion to help improve your chances of doing so. Last year, Kevin Pho known as “social media’s leading physician voice” discussed in a post written on July 16, 2012, titled “The New York medical malpractice crisis: Who’s to blame?,” how some financially struggling hospitals are going without medical malpractice insurance and just … Read more

Potential Alternatives to the Current Medico-Legal System in the United States

On my site I discuss numerous issues with the current legal system and how this relates to the medical system with a focus on third molar (wisdom teeth) removal. See http://www.teethremoval.com/legal_system_medical_malpractice, http://www.teethremoval.com/legal_standpoint.html, and http://www.teethremoval.com/dental_malpractice.html. One issue is that there are a host of different damage caps (non-economic ‘pain and suffering’ awards) in different states throughout the United States. This can sometimes limit the amount a patient can receive even if there was gross negligence by the dentist or oral surgeon. Hence this can prevent fair compensation from being awarded. Another issue with the legal system is that sometimes when patients suffer complications and problems due to negligence they will not be able to sue due to the case not being able to get a very large settlement amount. In addition, these legal cases can drag on for years and years … Read more