Mother who suffered toothache for two years due to infection receives £6k payout
A woman who suffered toothache for two years after an infected tooth was not removed immediately has received £6,500 in compensation.
Caroline Boucher, aged 33, from Heath Town, Wolverhampton, suffered severe toothache and an infection from 2013 to 2015 after her dentist decided to not immediately extract her bad tooth, her solicitors, the Dental Law Partnership, say.
Now the 33-year-old, from Heath Town, Wolverhampton, has been given £6,500 in compensation from her dentist in an out-of-court settlement.
The dentist, Dr Lakshmi Thota, at the Coven Dental Surgery in Codsall, near Wolverhampton, failed to treat problems with one of Miss Boucher’s teeth, according to her solicitors, the Dental Law Partnership.
When he finally extracted the tooth, the law partnership say he did not remove its roots properly, causing mother-of-one Miss Boucher yet more pain.
She was eventually referred to hospital and had the roots of the tooth removed under general anaesthetic. Miss Boucher said. “I was in so much pain and seemed to be at the dentists the whole time. I at least thought now the tooth had been extracted that would be the end of it.”
But the toothache continued and she was unable to eat on the left side of her mouth. She decided to see a new dentist.
The new dentist immediately discovered that the roots of the tooth had not been properly removed when it was extracted and referred Miss Boucher to hospital for an operation. This is why Miss Boucher’s pain never subsided.
Tim Armitage, of the Dental Law Partnership, said: “What our client went through is completely unnecessary. If the dentist had undertaken the proper treatment in the first place our client’s dental problems could have been avoided. We hope the compensation she receives goes some way towards paying for the corrective treatment required.”
The case was successfully settled earlier this year when the dentist paid £6,500 in an out-of-court settlement. The dentist did not admit liability. Dr Thota said: “We always work in the best interest of patients and we cannot comment on individual cases as it is confidential.”
