He's suing me and getting away with highway robbery!
By sharone74
@sharone74 (4837)
United States
March 2, 2008 6:55am CST
This is not fair! I am certain that many of you can relate when I say that I have had a toothache perpetually for the last at least 8 years. No not the same tooth (if it were the cavity would be in my brain for now) The cause is not just poor dental hygeine or any of that but basically chemo when I was sick about 14 yeas ago or so. That stuff really messes up your teeth! Anyway about 5 years ago I split one of my two front top teeth in half grinding my teeth. I was inconsolable! My fiancee at the time, just happened to be freidns with a really good dentist so he took me there.Long and short 3 visits, two dental implants (one temp one permanent) and 1 heck of a problem. The tooth was root canaled and then I had a dental emplant imbedded to the tune of $3600. I did make a few of the payments on the account, then the relationship got rocky, I got out, and the dentist never did get paid. So I have been sent to collections and I got a notice about 2 mos ago that they got their judgement and now they are going to garnish my wages in order to satisfy the debt. And now I have 1 cavity in, yup you guessed it! The canaled and replaced stump of the tooth that cost me $3600 and change just over 4 years ago. The cavity caused the inside of the stump, (the root, which they leave in to anchor the implant.) to turn to mush around the post of the implant and subsequently the implant has come out.
Excuse me but for the hassle, the money, the pain, and the suffering, can anyone tell me why he gets to sue me to recoup the money for his bill and take my money right out of my paycheck when for one tooth I paid $3600 plus dollars and the "permanent" implant has not even remained for a full 5 years. How is 5 years permanent. Now in addition to all the above, I get to take my uninsured butt to a dentist and go through the routine once more, because once more I cannot be missing a front tooth. It is just not attractive, nor was it part of the plan behind shelling out the kind of money that I have to for a "semi-permanent solution. And now the cavity has gotten quite nasty all under cover of the cap and not only does this stink from this standpoint but now I get to live with the stink of very rotten tooth right under my nose until I can accuulate the funds that I will need to have it cleaned out, drilled, filled, and another implant put in. I paid more for this darn tooth than 4 or 6 sets of full dentures and now I get to pay it again. So who really is the injured party who is out money here?
1 person likes this
2 responses
@asawako48162 (3321)
• United States
2 Mar 08
First of all I would document everything and make one last appeal to the dentist and have them make me a final offer.
If you are not satisfied with this get a lawyer who would take this case on consignment or pro bono. Sometimes you can get a social services free attorney if you ask the various agencies but even if you had to pay a lawyer I think it would be worth this as most people who due for services rendered will take a reduction of payment due or you may get the entire bill cancelled if you can prove your case.
I had a bathroom remodeled and it was a seven thousand dollar job. But I was lucky to have a UAW free lawyer who presented my case to the contractor and his salesman. What happened was an outside contractor was hired to appraise the job. I had to pay this independant contractor $125.00 but the UAW paid me back for my expenses. The outside contractor looked over the work that was done to my bathroom and the tile and fixtures and found 15 mistakes that were not either up to code or just sloppy work. In the end I did not have to pay for labor or the materials and had to sign an agreement that I would not disclose this information to anyone. No bad publicity. I found out that most people do not want to go to court over seven thousand dollars as even if they win they end up spending more then it was worth and it was bad publicity. Good luck. It is better to fight this before too much time goes by and the DDS wins by default.
@asawako48162 (3321)
• United States
3 Mar 08
how can a professiona like a dentist do such bad work and not be held accountable? the very least you should do is check with the Better Business Bureau in your area and lodge a complaint. Also check with the state/prov. dds or medical government agency that has a Osbundman (sp)) they over see the nursing homes and I think there is a an agency who check up on medical clinic and DDS etc to see they are living up to the ethcis of his profession..five years.?..this seems an excessive charge for what amounted to be bad workmansip..insult added to injury..good luck..This Doctor is not the norm for Dentist..very bad form.
@Qaeyious (2357)
• United States
7 Mar 08
The work isn't guaranteed. If you read the fine print on the contracts that are signed there are always stipulations of things that can go wrong, or the procedure won't work for various cases.
But if your boyfriend had signed the documents, I would think he would be responsible. Then again, I am no lawyer.
I paid $1000 for a root canal in 2002 (and a repeat one a few months later) that always resulted in a little bump at the end of one of the roots. We knew it would flare up some day, and Wednesday morning was the time - I'm now scheduled to get an implant that is going to cost me an additional $3700. And most likely that is not going to be guaranteed either -- I will have to sign a document stating that the procedure may not work and I will be liable to pay the full $3700 anyway.
In short, obviously, dental patients have no rights, no matter how much pain we are in.
