Client receives largest ever reported settlement sum against a dentist defendant

The incident  

This claim involved our client and the negligence he suffered due to a late referral by his dentist. On 21st March 2018, our client attended his dentist complaining about a lump in the tissues at the back of his mouth. The dentist noted that the swelling bled on contact and decided to refer our client for a review at the Maxillofacial department. The Maxillofacial department deals with diagnosis and treatment of diseases affecting the mouth, jaws, face, and neck. In our client’s case, it was suspected that he may have fibroma, a common benign tumour that forms from scar tissue in the mouth. However, there was a significant delay, and the referral was not sent until three months later. When it was sent, it was not sent on an urgent basis. Eventually our client was seen by a specialist in November 2018 – a total of eight months since his initial appointment, by which point his swelling had worsened and our client was in considerable discomfort and pain. A biopsy confirmed that our client was suffering with oral cancer.  

The aftermath  

Our client underwent a procedure to insert a tracheostomy and remove the tumour, and it was noted that 3 lymph nodes were affected. He then underwent radiotherapy and began chemotherapy in February 2019. Unfortunately, our client noticed a further lump. This was a recurrence of the cancer and was affecting his facial nerve. Our client had to undergo further facial surgery, which involved sacrificing his left facial nerve, but it was noted that some of the tumour was still present and could not all be removed. He was scheduled for further surgery in October 2019 to attempt to remove the remaining tumour, however the procedure was halted as the disease was found to be inoperable. Our client was then offered palliative chemotherapy, which he started that December. Around Christmas 2021, our client reported suffering with further pain and shortly afterwards he was diagnosed with a severe recurrence of the cancer. His chemotherapy was discontinued, and he was changed to immunotherapy. Our client suffered a progression in his oral cancer, which in turn caused an impairment upon his life expectancy. He lost three stone in weight which he was unable to regain due to complications caused by a locked jaw (trismus), a symptom of his cancer treatment. Our client was advised that there was nothing more that could be done for him, and all treatment options had been exhausted. He would have to prepare himself for end-of-life care, a shock to him and his family.  

The case  

This case was handled by Clinical Negligence Solicitor, Jennifer Argent with the assistance of barrister, Chris Gutteridge of Exchange Chambers. Jennifer ensured all the relevant medical evidence was collated and sent a Letter of Claim to the Defendant. Our position was, that if our client been referred appropriately he would not have developed the two recurrences of the cancer, not had a locked jaw – causing his significant weight loss – and would have been cured with no impairment on his life expectancy. Due to the dentist denying any causation, along with the claimant’s short life expectancy court proceedings were issued promptly by October 2022. The defendant caused numerous delays by requesting extensions for their defence. With our client receiving palliative care, it was important that we got him the compensation he deserved in a timely manner. We pushed the Defendant hard, fighting our client’s claim and they then admitted that the late referral was negligent but denied it had caused any major detriment to our client’s cancer diagnosis.  

The case outcome  

The case was settled out of court for a total of £500,000 in damages. It was a difficult day as the Defendant initially proposed significantly lower offers and only had limited instructions. However, given our expertise and experience, we were able to obtain the biggest settlement figure against a dentist Defendant ever reported to date. This settlement will help make our client comfortable in the last few days of his life and will help financially support the young family our client will leave behind.