An O’Fallon dentist claims a patient provided a health report by a medical doctor rather than a licensed dentist in his suit alleging he suffered nerve damage following a tooth extraction.
Ronald Borth filed the three-count complaint on May 3 against Aspen Dental Management Inc., Alex Wojtyna, D.D.S., and Harold Bean, D.D.S.
Borth alleges he saw Wojtyna at Aspen Dental in Glen Carbon on Feb. 8, 2017, and May 17, 2017, for an extraction and implantation. He then saw Bean at Lake Pointe Dental Group in O’Fallon on June 22, 2017, for a follow up afterthe extraction procedure.
Borth claims he suffered nerve injury during the procedures.
The plaintiff alleges the defendants failed to provide clinical guidance for their dental providers and failed to provide him with a referral to a neurologist or nerve repair specialist in a timely manner, which would have allowed him to have corrective repair surgery.
Bean filed a motion to dismiss count III of the complaint on July 3 through attorney Matthew Zittel of Neville, Richards & Wuller LLC in Belleville.
Count III of the complaint alleges Bean provided negligent dental care to the plaintiff.
Bean argues that when alleging negligence in a medical malpractice suit, the plaintiff must provide an affidavit of counsel and a report from a reviewing health professional.
“The attorney’s affidavit as to the defendant, Harold Bean, D.D. S., fails to state that the reviewing health professional is a licensed dentist or practices in the field of dentistry or taught in that field within the last 6 years,” the motion states.
“Additionally, the reviewing health professional’s report attached to the attorney’s affidavit states that the reviewing health professional’s opinion that said defendant deviated from the standard of care is based on ‘medical certainty,’ not based on dental certainty, an indication that the reviewing health professional is a medical doctor, not a licensed dentist,” it continues.
Borth is represented by John Hopkins of Gori Julian & Associates PC in Alton.
Madison County Circuit Court case number 18-L-591