What to do if I went to the dentist and they took X-rays and told me I had 2 cavities but didn’t can I sue?
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What to do if I went to the dentist and they took X-rays and told me I had 2 cavities but didn’t can I sue?
I went back to have them filled by by another dentist in the practice. They shot me up with novocane and looked at the x-rays. The dentist did not see the cavities and took additional X-rays. After looking at these, she told me it was my lucky day and I had no cavities. Can I sue for the needless treats of X-rays and novocane?
Asked on January 4, 2013 under Malpractice Law, Pennsylvania
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
Legally you may be entitled to sue: if the original diagnosis was negligent (unreasonably careless; not up to accepted standards of care), then it may have constituted malpractice--and if it did, you might be entitled to recover the additional, unnecessary medical costs you incurred.
Practically, it almost certainly is not worthwhile suing. All you could recover is your additional medical costs; but to bring a malpractice action, you need a medical expert, which will almost certainly cost you more (since medical experts do not work cheap) than you could recover for the cost of the X-rays and novacaine.
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