Is my dentist liable?

My dentist said I needed a root canal and a crown. I said ok and he began drilling. After 30 minutes of drilling, he put a temporary filling on it and told me we was going on vacation. 34 days later, he started drilling again, and again put a temporary filling on it. when the novacaine wore off....it hurt bad. very bad.(and it was a friday- i had to wait until tuesday to call his office). I called his office and explained that the pain had gone from my tooth into my ear and down my throat. They put me on hold, and then told me that I should see my doctor, because it was a medical problem. My doctor talked to my dentist and apparently my dentist said "I'm done with her". I was in so much pain I couldn't take it any longer- I called my dentist back and begged for a shot of novacaine. He gave me the 2 shots- grabbed a drill started drilling and then pried a post out of my root. He then referred me to a specialist to have the tooth removed the following day. Can I sue?

I waited until tuesday because all he has is an answering machine where you can leave a message- they check the machine when they open on monday. (that paticular monday was a holiday- they were still closed) But what about abandoning me as his patient with no warning? or time to find a new dentist? or reason of what happened? he did however give me back my money- but after i paid someone else to pull the tooth.

Talk to a lawyer. Sounds like you have a reason to be mad as hell but a lawyer can tell you if you have a good case.

If we could hear the dentist's side of the story, it would be easier to form an opinion. We really don't know what the clinical story is here.

I can't give any legal advice, but I think an attorney would definitely take this case.

I'm with Dr. Sam, we don't know why things happened the way they did. Sometimes root canals are done in stages and a root canal is not guaranteed to fix the tooth. You probably signed a consent form stating the potential complications.

By the way, if you were in pain on a Friday, why did you wait until Tuesday to call? Doctors are required to have emergency services for patients of record. Had you called you might have reached an answering service that could find him or an anwering machine telling you how to contatc the doctor.

I'm with Dr Sam.

Usually if you discuss the issue with your local dental board, they can investigate the case for you and determine what options you have.

You can try to sue him but depending on his reasons for how he perfomed the procedure and the charting in your file, you may not have a case. I know it sounds like you do, but I also know what info the attorney looks for and if the doctor has all he needs, no matter how the situation turned out, you may not get very far. But something sounds fishy to me. Good luck with it all.