Dentist Who Mistakenly Pulled 16 Teeth Ordered to Pay Patient $2 Million

A South Carolina dentistry practice that pulled 16 of a patient’s teeth by mistake instead of the three it was supposed to remove has been ordered to pay the woman $2 million.

Elizabeth Smith, 38, was a patient at Sexton Dental Clinic in Florence, S.C. in 2006. She agreed to have the dentist extract three teeth, but for some reason, the dentist pulled all 16 of her top teeth.

Employees of the dentistry clinic then tried to cover up the case of medical malpractice by doctoring Smith’s patient file, according to testimony in her lawsuit against the clinic.

Smith now hopes to have reconstructive surgery to repair the damage, but that procedure is expected to cost about $80,000, her attorney said.

“She now sees [the] opportunity [to] move on with her life, and, in her words … ‘get back to being what she was’ before this all happened,” said attorney Robert Ranson.

The clinic denies any wrongdoing in Smith’s treatment.

Sexton Dental Clinic CEO Ruan Westraad noted the clinic has served tens of thousands of patients every year but declined to comment in a New York Daily News report on the jury award.

According to the Daily News report, the clinic where the medical mistake was made was founded in 1923 to provide dental care to people who couldn’t otherwise afford a dentist. Clinic officials and their lawyer said they may file an appeal of the $2 million award.

No related posts.