Home > Research Legal Advice > Insurance > How do I find out who insures a dentist for malpractice claims?
Asked over 1 year ago - Raleigh, NC
FlagI have tried to be as nice and pleasant as I possibly can with a NC dentist, who caused damage to my mouth during a "simple" extraction. It took him 40-45 minutes to get this deep rooted tooth out. The area failed to properly heal after 10 weeks, saw an oral surgeon and underwent alveoloplasty and debridement due to irregular alveolar bone and prolonged healing of extraction site. I have requested negligent dentist to pay my damages and he continues to say he wasn't negligent. I'm not sure it's financially worth filing a lawsuit, but would like to present my demand to his carrier for a response but have no idea how to obtain that information.
You can request the insurance information from the dentist's office, but if the dentist does not comply you can make a formal demand for compensation on the dentist. Once the dentist receives the demand, they will likely turn the matter over to their malpractice insurance provider who would then most likely contact you if they felt you had some basis to a claim.
Contact local dental malpractice attorneys to discuss these facts with them and learn the full scope of your rights. Unless the injury and its cause is pretty obvious, a demand from an attorneys office would likely carry more weight.
What lawyers generally have to do to get a claim to the attention of the insurer is to send a demand letter to the person they believe to be liable. I strongly recommend that you retain a lawyer if you can find one who handles dental malpractice cases. Malpractice insurers generally don't pay much attention to uninsured claimants. Dental malpractice insurers, in my experience, are particularly hard to deal with. If you have a good case a lawyer will pay for himself in a better settlement. If you don't have a good case, a lawyer will be able to tell you that and save you some frustration.
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