Dentist did a bad job?

I have a friend who had a dentist in a rather low quality complex work on her teeth, and perform a root canal. She experienced a lot of pain from it, and when she went to another dentist the dentist said the previous dentist did a poor job and he was willing to write a note attesting to it. We want to simply have the charge (still unpaid) of $1100 returned. Now here's the problems:


-She just moved so she cannot go back to that dentist, I have to act as a representative.


-She currently has no dental insurance to see another dentist and get a note.


-The case is over a year old, how can we find out the statute of limitations in the state of Hawaii on this?





We don't want to sue and add to the malpractice epidemic, but if we have to we will. We just want the charge taken off of her total debt. What can we do?

Dentist did a bad job?
Hawaii Medical Malpractice Lawyers Resources


Hawaii State Bar Association LRIS


Honolulu, Hawaii


(808)537-9140


Statewide





Hawaii Medical Malpractice Lawyers


William H. Lawson, Attorney at Law


1188 Bishop St., Suite 2902


Century Square


Honolulu 96813 Hawaii, USA


Tel: 808-524-5300, Fax: 808-528-2525





Statutes of Limitation





Hawaii


2 years from discovery, not to exceed 6 years from act. Minors: age 10 or within 6 years, whichever is longer.





Hope this helps..I had a horrible root canal experience too, sorry she had to go through that :(.I would never do it again.
Reply:sue!thats the only thing you can do
Reply:go to him with a note from the other dentist that he did a poor job.





then tell him u want all the money u paid back and take the rest of the debt for that job off and in return, u won't sue for dental malpractice.





if he refuses sue him for what u gave him, the debt to be taken off on the grounds of dental malpractice - (i'm not sure if u sue extra if it was malpractice)
Reply:Ya I think your chances of winning this battle are slim to none. Dentists performs root canals all the time, but even the best dentist can perform a poor root canal..sometimes vital tissue is left in the canal for whatever reason, by accident and cause the tooth to reinfect.. usually the dentist wil warn the patient of this before they do a root canal. And you kind of have to expect it when seeing a dentist in a sketchy area like Mexico or something. But thats why they have you sign all those papers when you arrive at the dentist for your first visit, so they can cover their butt. Also to answer your question:


1)You will not be able to act as a representitive because of confidentiality reasons.


2)Dental is a whole separate field, and I dont think you will get any info from the statute of limitations.





Also, like I said it is a fairly common thing to have a poorly done root canal, as long as the procedure was actually performed I dont think you can do anything about it. The ony way they could be sued is if there was no root canal and they charged you for one. because they would be misinforming the patient. Or if they did a root canal and never told you they were doing one. but no matter what they always chart what procedure they have done and the details of that procedure, and what was discussed to cover their butts too. (by the way I am a Dental assistant)