Dento-legal climate worsening

Speaking at the Westminster Health Forum keynote seminar on dentistry in central London, Rupert Hoppenbrouwers, Head of the DDU, explained how the current worsening dento-legal climate is having an effect on indemnity fees. He said:

“Complaints to the General Dental Council (GDC) have increased by 110 per cent since 2001, and we are also seeing clinical negligence claims inflation rising at 10 per cent per year. While dental claims are traditionally seen as low value, this is no longer the case and our highest amount paid out in compensation to an injured patient in the last five years, together with the patient’s legal costs, was over £240,000. The case concerned alleged nerve damage, unsatisfactory dentures, failed implants together with alleged psychological injury.

“This trend is not due to a fall in dental standards, which remain high. Very few dental professionals are found to be impaired by the GDC and currently over half of dental negligence claims are successfully defended by the DDU. But the increasing demand for our services inevitably has an impact on the indemnity fees we need to charge dental professionals.”