If I had a tooth pulled that broke and made a hole into my sinus cavity which caused me to later have to have surgery, can I sue my dentist?

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If I had a tooth pulled that broke and made a hole into my sinus cavity which caused me to later have to have surgery, can I sue my dentist?

The dentist said it would be fine. However, a year later I just had a 3 1/2 hour surgery to clear out damaged sinuses and remove the broken tooth fragments that caused massive infection. Can I make dentist pay my out-of-pocket expenses for a CT scan and surgery?

Asked on July 27, 2014 under Malpractice Law, Ohio

Answers:

M.T.G., Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 9 years ago | Contributor

What rises to the level of malpractice differs in each case but I do think that a consultation with a dental malpractice attorney is warranted here.  It should cost you nothing.  But do so quickly. In Ohio, for medical malpractice, the statute of limitations is one year, which starts to run from one of three dates:

1)      The date of malpractice;

2)      The date you discover the injury from the malpractice; this is the date that what the Ohio Supreme Court calls a “cognizable event” occurs that puts a person on notice that the care he or she received may not have been appropriate. This is called the “Discovery Rule.”

3)      The date you last saw the doctor you are complaining against for the condition you are complaining about. This is the date of the termination of the physician/patient relationship.  For example, if a doctor commits medical malpractice on you and you continue to see that doctor for the condition you are complaining about, then the one year does not start to run until you end your relationship with the doctor.  The idea is to allow the doctor to try to remedy and cure any problems he or she may have caused.


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