What should I do if I went to the dentist and during an attempted root canal he broke a piece of metal file off inside of my tooth?

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What should I do if I went to the dentist and during an attempted root canal he broke a piece of metal file off inside of my tooth?

He told me that he was going to charge me to pull the tooth or I had to go to a specialist to have it removed.

Asked on October 1, 2015 under Malpractice Law, North Carolina

Answers:

S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 8 years ago | Contributor

Medical/dental malpractice is negligence.  Negligence is the failure to exercise due care that degree of care that a reasonable dental practitioner in the community would have exercised under the same or similar circumstances to prevent foreseeable harm.
Prior to filing a lawsuit for negligence against the dentist, it may be possible to settle the case with his malpractice insurance carrier.  Your claim filed with the malpractice insurance carrier should include your dental bills, dental reports, and if applicable, documentation of any wage loss.
Compensation for the dental bills is straight reimbursement.  The dental reports will document the nature and extent of your injury and will be used to determine compensation for pain and suffering, which is an amount in addition to the dental bills.  Compensation for wage loss is straight reimbursement.
If the case is settled with the dentist's malpractice insurance carrier, NO lawsuit is filed.  If you are dissatisfied with settlement offers from the malpractice insurance carrier, reject the settlement offers and file a lawsuit for negligence against the dentist.
If the case is NOT settled with the malpractice insurance carrier, your lawsuit for negligence against the dentist must be filed prior to the expiration of the applicable statute of limitations or you will lose your rights forever in the matter.


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