Is my dentist legally or moraly obligated to pay for an accident? does my dentist legally have to pay for an oral surgery implant that was necessitated by him breaking a drill bit off in a tooth he was working on during a root canal? he's indicating to m

Agree : Agree that what you are asking is a legal quesition not a medical question. I would contact your state dental association (not dental board) and inquire if they have a mediation process. This is usually a better route to take since many lawyers will not take a case like this because the potential award in a claim like is this is too small for them to make enough to justify their time and efforts. You will have to bear the burden of proof that the dentist's actions were negligent and deviated from the accepted standards. As dr. Scharf stated, it is not uncommon of a file to break off in a tooth during a root canal procedure. Personally, i would not charge for a procedure that could not be completed satisfactorily as a gesture of good will.

Your : Your situation is not common, but those risks are within the normal spectrum. Your main concern at this time is "moral values" and every professional values situations differently, you should try to reason with your dentist and if no successful response will be the outcome, you can contact the ethics committee of the local dental society and ask them to help you resolve this issue they will probably act as mediators . Good luck!

No..crap can happen!: There are no guarantees in medicine. A heart valve may need replacement numerous times because sutures break free...And then you can die on the operating table. A dentist uses informed consent to explain the potential issues of their procedures. A great one might "help you out" in the corrective process but no one is obligated to do so. A "mistake" is defendable, lack of informed consent isn't!