Compensation for patient who suffered lingual nerve damage
If you have suffered lingual nerve damage as a result of dental surgery then call our legal helpline on 0333 888 0412 or send an email to us at [email protected]
Our client had her wisdom teeth extracted after suffering terrible pain and repeat infections.
The procedure was carried out at her local hospital. Immediately following surgery, she experienced pain and numbness.
She expected it to subside, but remained in pain and after a few days went to her dentist for a review. Her dentist reassured her that pain and numbness was to be expected following wisdom tooth surgery, but she was told to contact the hospital for further advice. However, when she telephoned the hospital a nurse said there was nothing that could be done.
The pain continued and our client became increasingly anxious. She returned to her dentist who this time arranged a follow up appointment with the hospital.
When she was examined at the hospital she was diagnosed with lingual nerve damage. The lingual nerve damage had been caused during the extraction of her wisdom teeth and is a commonly caused by wisdom tooth surgery.
Unfortunately, due to the delay in treating the lingual nerve damage our client was told that her condition was now permanent and would continue to suffer numbness and shooting pains to the side of her mouth and tongue.
She was obviously devastated to discover that nothing could be done and felt badly let down by the fact that it would have been treatable if they had taken her concerns more seriously.
She therefore contacted our free dental negligence helpline and we agreed to assist her on a no win, no fee basis.
We obtained the client’s full dental and hospital records and then carried out a detailed investigation of her dental history and the extraction surgery.
Reports were obtained from medical experts which confirmed that the lingual nerve damage was caused by sub-standard dental surgery and that due to the delay in identifying and treating her injury, the condition is now permanent and irreversible. A further report from a consultant psychiatrist assessed the impact of the injury on our client’s mental health.
The hospital initially argued that wisdom tooth surgery always carries a risk and that the surgery had been performed to a reasonable standard. However, we strongly challenged their analysis and they eventually conceded that they were at fault. They accepted there had been an avoidable delay in identifying the lingual nerve damage and providing specialist treatment to prevent her from suffering permanent symptoms.
We then went on to negotiate an out of court settlement of the claim.