Articles Posted in Dental Malpractice

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Joyce Bonner was injured in a fall and lost four of her front teeth. She received treatment from dentist Dr. Elliott Ostro to repair the damage. Ostro recommended four implants to replace the teeth. However, Ostro did not take x-rays or make molds of Bonner’s mouth before starting his work.

More than a year later, Ostro still had not managed to complete the implant work. Bonner stopped seeing him and started with a new dentist in 2009. The new dentist gave his opinion that Ostro had not properly prepared Bonner for the implants and restoration of her teeth. Bonner later filed a lawsuit against Ostro.

At the trial, Bonner called dentist Dr. Loren Goldstein to testify as an expert witness as to the standard of care required for implant surgery. Goldstein testified that Ostro had deviated from the standard of care by failing to take x-rays or molds of Bonner’s mouth before starting surgery.

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A settlement was reached in the amount of $1.25 million in the case of a 75 year old man who allegedly contracted a severe digestive disorder because his dentist unnecessarily prescribed an antibiotic known to cause the condition in some patients. The settlement is reported to be the highest in Illinois for dental malpractice cases not involving death.

It was alleged that the plaintiff, a retired owner of a men’s retail clothing store, contracted clostridium difficile after taking Clindamycin, an antibiotic prescribed by the dentist during an office visit in 2005. The dentist prescribed the antibiotic when the plaintiff was paying a visit to his office for a regular cleaning. A crown had been put in place three weeks before. The patient then informed the dentist that the crown still bothered him and the dentist determined that it needed a root canal.

The plaintiff’s attorney contended there was no reason to prescribe an antibiotic because there was no infection. The plaintiff developed bleeding, diarrhea and then went for treatment with a gastroenterologist. An ileostomy surgical procedure was performed on the plaintiff but failed. Ileostomy can be temporary or permanent. An ileostomy is a surgically created opening in the small intestine, usually at the end of the ileum. It is the exit of the small intestine to the skin surface. It then was reversed leaving the man incontinent.

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