I'm Scott Kuboff, a dental injury lawyer with the law firm of Ibold & O'Brien. I investigate and prosecute dental claims on behalf of clients who were seriously injured following a dental procedure.

Nerve injuries are, generally speaking, a risk and complication of almost every dental procedure; meaning it can happen even in the absence of negligence. Keep in mind, it's our job to show the doctor did something wrong.

To bring a claim against a dentist, there has to be a good mix of liability and damages. “Liability” is just another way of saying that the dentist did something wrong. “Damages” are the amount of money you can recover for your injuries, harms, and losses that were sustained as a result of that error.

Since these types of claims are very costly to pursue, I need to make sure that the recoverable damages considerably exceed the case expenses; otherwise, I’m not doing any good for my clients if I’m unable to put any money into their pocket for the fix or for what they've been through.

I often get phone calls and emails from people who have sustained some type of nerve injury following a dental procedure. Nerve injuries are, generally speaking, a risk and complication of almost every dental procedure; meaning it can happen even in the absence of negligence. Keep in mind, it's our job to show the doctor did something wrong.

In these types of cases, what I'm looking for is the nature of the nerve damage. For example, is it compressed, stretched, severed, or otherwise damaged by caustic solution. This gives me some insight as it relates to whether this injury is what you would expect from the procedure or possibly caused by the dentist’s neglect.

Of course, I am always considering the damage component. If it is a nerve injury that is improving since the procedure and you are not undergoing any further care, it's likely that the costs of litigation would far exceed any recoverable damages. However, if the injury is permanent and causing a significant disability in your life, then the damages start to weigh in favor of conducting a more formal review.

If you have sustained an injury following a dental procedure, please contact Scott for a no cost, no obligation consultation and case evaluation.