Dentists need immunity from COVID-19-related claims

The Dental Defence Union (DDU) explained that several US states including New York, New Jersey and Michigan have already adopted laws that provide healthcare professionals and hospitals with 'immunity from civil liability for any injury or death alleged to have been sustained because of any acts or omissions undertaken in good faith' during the crisis.

John Makin, head of the DDU, said: 'During the pandemic, dental professionals are working hard to provide telephone triage and other services such as urgent dental care centres, while others have volunteered to be redeployed in other medical settings. These professionals are under tremendous pressure, taking difficult decisions about patient care in very challenging conditions.

'Dental professionals are vulnerable to negligence claims arising from acts and omissions undertaken in good faith during the pandemic. Given that such claims can arise years after the events in question, the extraordinary period in which these decisions were taken will have faded from the collective memory.