wwmd? (nsr)

so i read this as i'm settling into the cubicle and into another day at work. wh-wh-what?

about three years ago i had a root canal performed at this guy's office, and there were some problems. the first weekend after the initial proceedure the hollowed-out tooth broke in half, which isn't a pleasant experience. evidently he could only go that far into the entire proceedure because photos of his work would have to be subitted to my insurance company before they'd pay for the rest of the proceedure.

when i went back to have the broken tooth situation dealt with, this dentist chopped into my gums with something that looked and functioned similar to a hot knife. he basically cut away part of my gumline. i'm of the opinon that he screwed up my case bigtime, and i think that i have some residual problems due to his treatment of my case. in the end, i went to another dentist to have the crown and whatever else completed because i refused to set foot in that first guy's office again.

needless to say, i'm no longer relaxed this morning and enjoying my coffee. should i be talking to a lawyer or something about all of this? i was pretty upset about it at the time, and considered speaking to a lawyer or whatnot- but got caught up in the comings-and-goings of life and basically let the situation slide rather than concentrate on something which was bothering me.

so, with all of the dentists on this board i am counting on some good advice. are there lots of lawyer-types as well? anybody stay at a holiday inn express last night?

you are going to need the following things:

1. records of the procedures that dr. faupa, screwed up

2. proof of wrong/shoddy work by another medical professional, ie. Dr. Fixitright. Did he make notes or notice the bad work this guy did.

3. Financial damages incured by dr. faupa. How much did it cost you to fix, pain and suffering. If all costs incured were covered by your insurance compnay, its gonna be a tough one.

4. A ticket in line behind all the other people that went to that guys office, cause they are all thinking the same thing this morning.

acostiga, you have my sympathy. :(

I recently went thru a root canal and it was no picnic. Luckily, I didn't have any complications. However, I was warned to be very careful between appointments because the tooth was fragile. My oral surgeon did tell me that if tooth broke I would be faced with some pretty serious surgery to repair that. Evidently, they have to implant something in your jaw to support the crown. Is this what they did to you?

How bad are your complications now? As a person who has been thru a major med malpractice lawsuit, I will tell you that it is a **royal** PITA. I would only recommend going forward with one if you are faced with a very expensive and/or life-altering situation that you need serious money to resolve.

Good luck whatever you do and hope you feel better. Nothing worse than dealing with mouth/head pain.

Sprite

at the time, i wanted to put all of the problems and headaches associated with the procedure and whatnot behind me as quickly as possible. the pain and inconvenience were just part of the deal, at least that's what i thought at the time. i'm contacting my dental insurance company to see if they have records that might help, and also the dentist i saw to finish/correct the problem.

is it wrong that i feel like somebody just punched me in the stomach?

edit: yes, when i went back to the first dentist after the tooth broke he chopped my gum up really rough and implanted some kind of titanium post into my jawbone. it still feels strange, basically feels weird all of the time. occasionally it'll get infected or irritated around the area in question if i'm not really careful about keeping it super-clean, brushed and whatnot.

my mood this morning is rapidly deteriorating.

If you are thinking about seeing a lawyer, do it as soon as possible. In most states, you only have three years from the date you "discovered" the negligence to file a lawsuit and it sounds like you're getting close to that deadline. Most attorneys will not charge you for an initial consult, so it might be worthwhile to see one to get more info.

thanks chronic. a high school friend of mine has a father who is a local malpractice lawyer or something along those lines. she's going to run the basic scenario past him and he'll most likely be able to ascertain if it's worthwhile or even possible to pursue any sort of action. basically, i'm just pissed to learn about how shady this guy is/was.

didn't that guy shannon schad initially become a full-time skier because of money he made from workman's comp after cutting off his finger or something like that? hmm...