£170,000 for man whose dentist failed to spot symptoms of mouth cancer

Posted 09/05/2013

Sharon Allison, a medical negligence specialist at Ashtons Legal, has obtained a settlement of £170,000 for a man whose treatment for mouth cancer was delayed by around nine months because his dentist initially mistook a cancerous ulcer for a benign ulcer caused by a problem tooth. 

A few months later, after the ‘problem’ tooth had been extracted and the facial pain continued, the dentist thought his patient had a post-extraction dental abscess. On his own request the man was eventually referred to an oral surgeon, at which point his cancer was diagnosed. He has since undergone surgery to remove the cancer and has had reconstructive plastic surgery to his jaw. It was agreed between the parties that the man would have avoided considerable reconstructive surgery and chemotherapy had he been referred on for his ulcer in a timely fashion.