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Medical Forum / General / Dentistry / October 2005Who Is Liable????????
My old dentist sold his practice. I was the last patient he saw then he vanished for parts unknown. Less than a month after he split one of the crowns he did fell off and had to be redone. I disputed the charges on my credit card and they are awaiting a reponse. This crown was part of a series of treatments that lasted from April through June 2nd. Some of the charges on my card statements appear with my old dentist name but some of the last work he did the charges appear under the name of the new organization that took over his practice and claim they have no clue where he is or where he went. The impression I got from the new organization is they are cagey about this whole matter and do not feel responsible for this problem. My question is, when they bought my old dentist's practice did they also buy any liabilities such as mine that went along with it?. I spoke to the new dentist who took over and said they had an an agreement with my old dentist that should a problem arise where someone came back with defective dental work that they could contact him and he would either return and redo it himself or pay them to redo it. I spent weeks with him trying to get a hold of my old dentist and the new dentist says he has no clue how to contact my old one and he even had his old mail and does not know where to forward it. professional liability is personal liability. THEY DID NOT buy any of the liabilities. Question is: how did the credit card bill end up with the new practices name on it??? THAT may put them on the hook. > My old dentist sold his practice. I was the last patient he saw then > he vanished for parts unknown. Less than a month after he split one of [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > dentist and the new dentist says he has no clue how to contact my old > one and he even had his old mail and does not know where to forward it. > My old dentist sold his practice. I was the last patient he saw then >he vanished for parts unknown. Makes ya wonder now doesn't it? > Less than a month after he split one of >the crowns he did fell off and had to be redone. I disputed the charges [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >the new organization that took over his practice and claim they have no >clue where he is or where he went. Oh right. STEP one is to get the charges removed, STEP TWO is the pondering ..... >The impression I got from the new >organization is they are cagey about this whole matter and do not feel >responsible for this problem. Right., And you are not either. > My question is, when they bought my old >dentist's practice did they also buy any liabilities such as mine that >went along with it?. Possibly yes. This is known as buying "the accounts receivable" or "receivables." But hey! NOT YOUR PROBLEM! >I spoke to the new dentist who took over and said >they had an an agreement with my old dentist that should a problem >arise where someone came back with defective dental work that they >could contact him and he would either return and redo it himself or pay >them to redo it. OK! > I spent weeks with him trying to get a hold of my old >dentist and the new dentist says he has no clue how to contact my old >one and he even had his old mail and does not know where to forward it. Sounds like the guy who goes into the butcher shop and orders ground beef. The butcher says its $3.99 a pound. CUSTOMER: "What?? My old butcher sells it for $1.99 a pound!!" BUTCHER: Why aren't you buying it over there? CUSTOMER: He is out of it right now. BUTCHER: "Well when I am out I sell it for $0.99 a pound." In other words, the story changes, depending on where the dentist is ......... I spoke with the Dentist's office manager and she is being billigernt over the whole episode. Their position is this is all Dentist #1's fault not theirs. They are writing back to my Credit Card issuer asking the charges be reinstated. Im actually surprised they transfered the merchant number to the new dentist normally the new business opens their own merchant number. It is possible the 1st dentists business account does not exist or does not have any funds in it. Your issue is with the 1st dentist. However it could also be your fault that the crown failed for example not maintaining oral hygeine or you developed a systemic disease etc.... Or it is possible the old crown just needed to be recemented and your new dentist did not feel comfortable recementing a crown he did not make. This is a case of buying something and the company which you bought it from is no longer in business and now the thing you bought broke. If you are able to contact the old dentist and if he is a nice guy he may may redo the crown for you otherwise you are out of luck I'm afraid. Also perhaps if you are nice to the new dentist or the office manager they may feel sympathetic to your situation and give you a discount on the new crown for being a loyal customer and a nice guy. My Fault?. The Crown falls off after 30 days?. My new dentist said it was not built up enough. My Fault?. The Crown falls off after 30 days?. My new dentist said it was not built up enough. ______________________________ Normally a crown should not fall off after 30 days. In those infrequent instances when it does, usually the dentist fixes it so it won't just fall off again. In the case of a short buildup, the dentist might make a taller buildup. Or if needed, he might perform a crown lengthening and make a new crown. What possibilities were discussed by the dentist before the crown was made? Was there any mention of inadequate tooth height, or the possibility that a root canal and post/buildup would be needed to give the crown retention? Don't give up on the credit card company too easily, even though many card issuers have a tendency to take the merchant's word over yours. I don't know why the new dentist doesn't have the old dentist's new address. I certainly wouldn't buy a practice without a means of contact with the seller. But maybe the old dentist did slip out of town at midnight -- who knows. You can ask for his forwarding address from the post office (they charge a dollar or so). Either he filed a written forwarding address with the post office, or the new dentist is sending his mail to the new address. Either way, somebody probably has the address. You can also check with the state dental board, but dentists who intentionally skip town often don't bother to update their address with the board. I'd start with the post office instead, with the dental board info to be checked later. The old dentist has a legal obligation to address any issues concerning his professional treatment within the time limit set by the statute of limitations. Let us know what happens. - dentaldoc > But maybe the old dentist did slip out of town at midnight -- who > knows. You can ask for his forwarding address from the post office [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > the board. I'd start with the post office instead, with the dental > board info to be checked later. Geez, what is the guys name? I have netdetective. Or you could do a USsearch. If he uses a credit-card he can probably be located very quickly on the internet! What is the name, John Doe Smith? I spoke with the Dentist's office manager and she is being billigernt over the whole episode. Their position is this is all Dentist #1's fault not theirs. They are writing back to my Credit Card issuer asking the charges be reinstated. I am not sure the word fault is appropriate here. It could have been a new condition from your body that caused the failure or it could have been an underestimate on dentist 1's part. I do not think that dentist 1 wanted your crown to fall it, It just happened. It could have been the amount of decay you had weakened your tooth so much that the tooth could not hold the new crown. You really can't blame dentist 1 for his intentions for you to have a functioning tooth. It's just that in your particular case the crown did not hold up. Sometimes these unexpected things happen in dentistry since dentistry is not an exact science and very subjective. Sometimes our emotions take over and we say the wrong things and a wrong message gets sent. On a positive note if your whole health problem is this one crown that if fixed will last for years you are doing fine and the last thing you want to have is a bunch of dental work that you need done vs 1 crown. You know what's a good idea, is to offer patients extended warranty policies for dental work. Just add an amount based on a percentage of the fees. For example the policy would cover damage for a crown during the 5 yoear period. Patients could file claims to take care of these situations of doctors retiring or dying or moving out of state. Certain conditions could be built into these policies to prevent abuse such as submitting x-rays and photos of the final restorations, requirement to maintain doctor recommended check-ups and cleanings etc... The company offiring this policy would not be a dental insurance company and will guarantee failures in between the regualar insuranc companies limits. Of course this would increase the cost of dentistry but the program could be optional. >You know what's a good idea, is to offer patients extended warranty >policies for dental work. Just add an amount based on a percentage of >the fees. Tricky though. After all, procedures on living organisms can never be guaranteed! Joel >For example the policy would cover damage for a crown during the 5 >yoear period. Patients could file claims to take care of these [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >Of course this would increase the cost of dentistry but the program >could be optional. Life insurance is a bet as well. > My old dentist sold his practice. I was the last patient he saw then > he vanished for parts unknown. Less than a month after he split one of [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > but some of the last work he did the charges appear under the name of > the new organization that took over his practice. It's possible the new owner purchased the debts of the old one but not the liabilities. Buying the debts would have increased the price they had to pay for the company. Not buying the liabilities would reduce the price they paid. I'm not sure if credit card debts are as transferrable as other debts though. >My question is, when they bought my old >dentist's practice did they also buy any liabilities such as mine that >went along with it? Nope. Try contacting the dental board in your state, they should know where your previous doc is if s/he is still licensed in that state. -- W_B Take out the G'RBAGE wubbabubbazG@RBAGEyahoo.com > them to redo it. I spent weeks with him trying to get a hold of my old > dentist and the new dentist says he has no clue how to contact my old > one and he even had his old mail and does not know where to forward it. Same thing happened to me, kindof about 12 years ago Records were even missing! Finally found him in SF. he had died from aids. check this out, and replace "retired" with "fled without a trace". http://www.camprehoboth.com/issue05_16_03/we_remember.htm Try US search, net detective, zabbasearch etc. You'll find him in a hearbeat. And if that doesn't work ask the new company to give his SS# to a private investigtor or yourself. He can run, but in the information age he can't hide! |
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