The age of the "victim" has nothing to do with whether or not punitive damages may be recovered. The standard is usually something along the lines of willful and wanton conduct. Based on what I've read here, I'm not sure this dentist's actions rise to the level of punitive damages. It sounds simply like negligence to me. And, it also doesn't sound to me that the "paper trail" will be an issue here. All the "paper trail" that is needed will be in the records from Children's Hospital, where the infection was diagnosed and treated. I do, however, agree that because no permanent injuries were suffered, this is likely not a case that a plaintiff's lawyer will litigate. But, because the "victim" is a 5 year-old, little girl, a plaintiff's lawyer may feel that he/she has sympathy on their side and may write a letter to the dentist and attempt to negotiate a settlement. Settlements do happen without the need to resort to litigation (usually when the plaintiff is reasonable and the defendant wants to avoid litigation). Bottom line: contact a lawyer (or, if necessary, lawyers) to find one that would be willing to help you negotiate a settlement.

 

Sounds like the episode of The Bernie Mac Show I watched last night.

 

What a ridiculous attitude. How about having some of your own moral judgment.

So do I understand this correctly, you took her to a dentist that basically specializes in walk ins and then you were stunned you didn't get the best care in the world? Man, let me tell you, I'm stunned. Does your 5 year old not have a regular dentist at this point? I would think your daughter would already been going to the dentist at this point.

I think you should be satisfied in the thought that you had the good judgment of not just listening to the dentist and being proactive in your daughter's health. Instead of trying to win some money (other than money you paid out of pocket), how about you just report the dentist to the proper governing board, and then never visit him again.

And I bet in about 1 month, you're daughter will barely remember these events, and certainly won't remember the pain.

 

Of the almost $6K bill, I'm going to have to co-pay about $500. But that's not counting my missed work days, many sleepless nights including spending overnight at the hospital, all the revisits later on, all the worries and headaches, etc. She's fine now, but we all went through a lot in that week for something so careless that a dentist who's been in business for over 2 decades could've easily known and avoided.

I'm not asking for the moon, just for compensation of all our sufferings, which should be okay between $10-20K.

 

Although I am a proud American, crap like this makes me sick. When ANYTHING goes wrong, whether it be avoidable or not, the first thing the typical american will do is SUE SUE SUE. Jesus, be happy your daughter isn't dead, go home and enjoy life. Don't be the american slob and sue everyone that was remotly connected

 

IT's like a virus the attitude of the american public. I mean if some guy fixed my car and didn't do it right and I had to take it back to get it fixed right. He attempted to do it right and did not do any ill will. A tech at his place messed up. Did he owe me for my time bringing the car to him and my need to get a replacement car during that second time and plus the stress of not having my car and deciding how to get the replacement car ie did he owe me for pain and suffering?

 

Yeah, crap like this! If you're a professional in the health field, i.e. doctors, and you're careless, you deserve to be sued. And if you're careless to a point of malpractice, you not only deserve to have the license revoked but also be thrown in a Chinese jail and caned with bamboo sticks.

I'm just gonna be an American slob and sue everyone, especially anyone who was careless enough to have made my daughter sick. Be thankful it wasn't YOU (whom I'm suing). Well, I'm not suing yet, but I will if he won't settle. Oh yeah, not only am I thankful my daughter isn't dead, HE should be extremely thankful too, because not only would I sue him for everything he's got, I'd kill him afterwards.

American slobs FTW!!!

Oh yeah, I'm not Jesus btw.

 

Well, Honda had screwed up my car and wasted more than a week of mine but I didn't sue. But this time, it wasn't my car and the dentist isn't Honda. Apples to oranges!

 

So how would you feel if a doctor at the er refused to see your daughter because he thought you'd sue him?

 

In response to a few of the comments, I've seen a lot of doctors in my day (minor birth defect by the ear led to constant infection, severed a ligament and tendon in the right shoulder from snowboarding, fractured left wrist, skull fracture, blah blah). Much of that was when I was a minor, and my parents being paranoid, always got a zillion opinions.

What I've learned: Experience doesn't mean as much as people think it does. I've gone to doctors that were so outdated, they weren't even aware of the terminology (sublocation, I believe it was) used to describe the damage that occurred to my right shoulder and argued with me that what I KNOW happened, didn't happen. "I hit the ice, it popped out, then it went back in." "No, sorry, that didn't happen."

Medical knowledge is always expanding, and it becomes impossible to stay on top of everything. So, while experience is important, snubbing a fresh doctor right out of school isn't the best strategy either. Get a lot of opinions. In fact, my family doctor told me my shoulder would be fine, and that it would heal in 1 month, 3 months tops, and that was that. Fast forward 5 years, it's still bugging me (I'm one of those guys that try to pretend everything is fine), I get it checked out, and it turns out I've got shit all torn up in there. Wonderful.

And sorry, I don't think ethnicity is really much of a factor. I see doctors of all races, most of them minority, a few white, and have gotten good and bad from all ethnicities. I saw soo many doctors for my birth defect problem, and doctors of all ethnicities said it could not be removed. The last doctor I saw about it was Japanese, and he said it was pretty trivial to remove, and badda bing, he removed it.

The best dentist I've ever had is Chinese, and I recommend him to everyone. He will do things the long, hard way if necessary, while other doctors will cut corners. OK, this is getting too long, too many examples. You get the idea. Just, in general, get a lot of opinions, spend a lot of time finding a doctor you're comfortable with, and personally, I like to go with specialists (preferably at a highly ranked university) since I've had too many bad experiences with general practioners when it gets any more complicated than the flu. That's just my 2 cents.