Israeli Court Orders Dentists to Pay 130,000 NIS Over Negligent Treatment
The Bat Yam Magistrate's Court ordered a clinic owner and a dentist to pay 130,000 NIS to a patient after a court expert found that two teeth were extracted without justification and implants were poorly fitted.
The Bat Yam Magistrate's Court recently ordered a clinic owner and a treating dentist to pay approximately 130,000 NIS in compensation to a 58-year-old patient due to severe deficiencies in her dental rehabilitation treatment. Judge Edith Kleiman-Bellec ruled that two of the patient's teeth were extracted without sufficient medical justification and that she requires corrective treatment, including the complete replacement of a porcelain bridge.
Unjustified Extractions and Negligence
The plaintiff underwent a complex lower jaw rehabilitation treatment about a decade ago. She filed a lawsuit against the clinic owner and the dentist who performed the implants, initially seeking 400,000 NIS. The plaintiff claimed she originally approached the clinic for a simple crown fracture, but was negligently diagnosed and advised to extract nine healthy teeth. She also alleged she was pressured into signing a consent form while under local anesthesia and experiencing severe anxiety.
A court-appointed medical expert examined the case and identified significant defects in the fitting of the porcelain bridge, which caused discomfort, bacterial plaque accumulation, and necessitated its complete replacement. The expert estimated the corrective treatment at 71,000 NIS, with 49,000 NIS allocated for the bridge replacement alone. Furthermore, the expert confirmed that two teeth were extracted without medical justification, and several implants were placed too densely, leading to their failure.
Defense Claims and Court Ruling
The defendants argued that they adhered to acceptable professional standards, claiming the implant failures resulted from poor oral hygiene. They also contended that since nine years had passed, the bridge had reached the end of its natural lifespan and would have required replacement regardless of the treatment quality.
However, Judge Kleiman-Bellec rejected this defense, noting that even the clinic's own expert estimated the lifespan of such dental structures to be at least ten years. The judge adopted the court expert's findings in full.
Nevertheless, the court noted that the plaintiff had exaggerated her claims and downplayed the poor initial state of her teeth. Evidence showed she had received a detailed, hour-long explanation before consenting to the procedure, refuting her claim of being misled.
Ultimately, the court ordered the defendants to pay 106,000 NIS for corrective treatment, travel expenses, and pain and suffering. With legal fees and VAT, the total compensation reached approximately 131,000 NIS. The clinic owner was held liable for 70% of the damages, while the implanting dentist was ordered to pay the remaining 30%.
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