Before dental implant surgery, a dentist typically performs a thorough examination to determine your suitability for the procedure. Diagnostic tests could determine if you have healthy enough teeth and gums to handle implants. As noted by Healthline, preexisting medical conditions such as gum disease, diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis could cause complications.
A dentist may ask you to first treat a condition so that it does not interfere with post-procedure healing. Failing to take recommended preliminary steps could cause the procedure to fail. Other medical issues could also develop.
Which circumstances could lead to serious medical issues?
Research published on the U.S. National Library of Medicine’s website notes that cardiovascular diseases could affect a patient’s blood flow. With restricted oxygenated blood flow, tissues may not heal properly after an implant procedure. According to the Mayo Clinic, individuals who smoke or who have sinus problems may also have less than successful implant outcomes.
As noted by WebMD, individuals with heart conditions may require antibiotics before undergoing a dental procedure. A release of bacteria into the bloodstream related to a dental procedure could lead to a worsened cardiovascular condition. A discussion or review of the relationship between a dental procedure and heart health could help avoid serious complications.
What may reflect a dentist’s negligence?
Researchers estimate 5% to 10% of dental implants fail each year. Neglecting to diagnose a preexisting condition prior to an implant procedure may reflect malpractice and require legal action. A dentist may, for example, have overlooked an issue related to a patient’s sinuses, which could cause a misplaced implant to protrude into a sinus cavity.
Dental practitioners owe a duty of care to examine patients thoroughly before performing a procedure. Without reviewing 3D images or X-rays, a dentist may miss discovering a potential problem that affects a patient’s recovery or future health.
Research points toward women experiencing more medical mistakes and misdiagnoses than men. Healthline reports that some physicians may disregard their female patients’ pain symptoms. Legitimate and serious issues could remain overlooked.
Doctors, for example, may provide their male patients with treatment or medication for pain symptoms. They may, however, instead offer women a recommendation for therapy. Mental health professionals may then dismiss a woman’s physical symptoms. By misdiagnosing female symptoms as depression or anxiety, practitioners could ignore serious health issues.
Both men and women may experience gender bias
A physician’s bias toward a patient’s gender may influence the outcome of medical treatment for either sex. While a doctor may view some female symptom complaints as “hysteria,” some male health issues may also go ignored.
A patient’s expressed symptoms of a migraine headache, for example, may receive a different diagnosis based on gender. Some medical professionals may believe that their female patients exaggerate their complaints. Men, however, may receive medical feedback based on an exaggeration of masculinity. Male patients may hear that they do not need treatment or medication; men have a greater tolerance for pain.
Women may face under-representation in medical research
As reported by Prevention.com, heart disease researchers typically conduct studies in which women represent less than one-third of the participants evaluated. During cancer trials, women account for only 38% of the subjects studied. Because of the lower numbers of women in studies, research reports could reflect biases that lean toward treating men. Doctors may misdiagnose female patients based on research conducted primarily with male subjects.
A wrong or missed diagnosis may result in a serious medical condition remaining untreated. The consequences could lead to patients facing life-threatening illnesses or injuries. Affected patients of either gender may require a legal action to recover from the harm caused.
Wrongful death cases occur when someone causes the death of another person through negligent or criminal actions. If you bring a case to court and the court rules in your favor, the law states how the court must divide any damages.
The U.S. Department of Justice explains the distribution of wrongful death damages considers who is most financially impacted by the death.
Spouse rights
If the person had a spouse, then the spouse gets half of any damages before anyone else can get some. If the spouse is the only close relative, then he or she may get all damages.
If the deceased person has children, they will receive some of the damages. The spouse gets half and then the child gets the rest. If there is more than one child, though, the spouse only gets one-third, and the children evenly divide the remainder. If a child has also died prior to this, his or her children get the share.
If there are no children, the spouse gets half, and then the parents of the person get the rest. If there are no living parents, but the person has siblings, the siblings will split the remaining half.
No Spouse
If there is no spouse, children are first in line to get any damages. After that, the parents get the damages. If there are no parents, then the siblings will get it. If a person dies without any close relatives, then the next of kin under the law would get the damages.
In most cases, the estate will file the wrongful death case so that distribution can more easily occur.
