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dental negligence claim
progress –
What we do |
| Claim Progress |
| We endeavour to achieve a negotiated
settlement of a client’s dental negligence claims without the need
to ‘go to court’, and the majority of claims
do succeed at this early stage. However on occasions
the dentist’s representative may strongly resist
a claim and court proceedings must be started to resolve
the claim. We have set the different stages out below; |
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| Director Review |
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| Before we do this, a client’s
case will have been separately reviewed by two of the
directors– who are dentists - and we will have
commissioned an independent dental expert to examine
the client’s mouth and teeth and prepare a report
on the dental treatment which is the subject of your
claim. The dental expert will state whether the treatment
is of a standard below that which ought to be provided
by an averagely competent dentist. In some very complicated
cases we may seek an advice from a dentally qualified
barrister. If we are all of the opinion that the client’s
treatment was significantly substandard then we will
commence court proceedings on the client’s behalf. |
| Service of Proceedings |
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| Court proceedings are commenced by
the service of a series of documents, which set out
the detail of the claim on the defendant’s solicitors,
and also lodging the same at court. These comprise; |
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the ‘Particulars of Claim’ -
a document which sets out the facts of the claim
and the allegations of substandard dental treatment, |
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a medical report which sets out the injuries
caused by the substandard treatment and the corrective
treatment required to put this right, and |
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a schedule of losses which sets out all the
costs that the client has incurred as a result
of sub-standard treatment. |
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| The Defence |
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| The Defendant will then serve a Defence
which sets out why the Defendant is resisting the claim.
The Defendant will either assert that the treatment
was of a satisfactory standard or alternatively, although
the treatment was unsatisfactory, this has not affected
the patient’s dental condition in any material
way. |
| Upon receipt of the Defence, the court
will set a timetable for the progress of the case through
to a trial. The main element of this concerns the exchange
of evidence that each party intends to rely on. The
first part is the exchange of documents to be considered
at trial. These include the relevant dental records
and x-rays and any wage slips and receipts to prove
any losses. The next step is for both parties to serve
statements of those witnesses on whom they intend to
rely. The patient’s statement will detail the
chronology of the treatment and the physical emotional
and financial effects of the substandard treatment.
The dentist’s statement will set out what he
did and why he did it. |
| The Expert's role |
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| The claimant’s claim must be
supported by an independent and experienced dental
practitioner who is an expert in the field of dentistry
which is the subject matter of the claim. The expert
will prepare a report on liability and causation which
sets out his opinion on the standard of care provided
by the defendant and a report on condition and prognosis
which sets out the injuries and losses caused by any
substandard dental treatment. These reports are exchanged
with the reports of the defendant’s expert. This
exchange of evidence is vital so that the we are aware
of the reasoning of the expert supporting the defendant’s
treatment and the defendant likewise understands the
claimant’s expert’s criticisms of the dental
treatment which is the subject of the claim. |
| A meeting will be scheduled between
the claimant’s expert and the defendant’s
expert in order that they can consider their respective
opinions and identify those aspects of the claim on
which they agree and disagree. In this way the real
issues in contention can be isolated and these become
the focus to be determined at the trial. |
| At Trial |
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| At the trial our client’s case
will be presented by an experienced barrister who will
have advised at a number of stages in the course of
the claim. Our client will of course be represented
by our legal team member and it is also common for
the relevant partner to attend as well. The claimant
and defendant and their respective experts will all
give evidence and the parties’ barristers will
summarise the evidence and the parties’ respective
cases. If matters do get this far then we will have
protected your position with legal expenses insurance and you can be sure that there will be no financial risk to you in taking your claim as far as a court room. |
| It is important to stress that just
because court proceedings have been started it is not
inevitable that there will be a final trial. Because
of the further investigation which is carried out and
the complete exchange of evidence both parties are
able to more accurately assess the strengths and weaknesses
of both the claimant’s claim and the dentist’s
defence and this provides a further opportunity to
reach a settlement before the final hearing. |
