India

BENGALURU: A dentist accidentally cut a Bengaluru woman’s lip during an orthodontic procedure, leaving her with a big scar on the face needing five sutures and possible plastic surgery.

Traumatised by the incident, the woman sued the dentist in consumer court, which held him responsible for a casual and unprofessional approach towards the patient and ordered him to pay a compensation of Rs 60,000.When the 32-year-old mother of two from Ramamurthynagar walked into Sure Smile Dental Care in Horamavu on the evening of June 13, 2020, little did she know her life was going to change for a while.

Orthodontist Vinod Pattabiraman, who was known to her, was performing orthodontics on her front tooth when he sliced her upper lip by accident while using a dental blade machine.

The woman recalled that blood started to ooze out of the wound.

The shocked and agonised woman wanted a mirror to check her wound, but this was allegedly refused by the dentist, who used a band aid on the part and sent her home saying it was just a minor laceration.

He also collected Rs 5,000 for his services.Upon reaching home, the woman realised the intensity of the cut and rushed to a hospital as the bleeding was not stopping.

The doctor told her the cut was severe that immediately needed five stitches.

When the woman and her husband contacted the dentist over phone and explained the situation, the latter played it down and asked her to return to his clinic for the stitches.

The traumatised woman refused this and ended up seeking suitable medical help elsewhere.However, two days later, she was shocked to see herself in the mirror after removing the bandage: There was a large scar from the lip to her nose.

Realising that she was scarred for life, the woman sent a legal notice to the dentist on June 26, 2020.

Seeking a compensation of Rs 30 lakh, she approached the Bengaluru Urban district consumer disputes redressal commission in Shantinagar .

The litigation commenced in September 2020 and the woman’s lawyer presented her case.

The dentist’s attorney argued that there was a small laceration on the complainant’s upper lip during treatment that was neither because of the doctor’s negligence nor done intentionally.

Injury to soft tissue in the course of dental treatment procedure is a possibility and causes bleeding which arrests itself, and this did not cause any serious problem or need sutures, the attorney argued.

It was claimed that the patient had left the dentist’s clinic fully well and still needed to pay him a pending fee of Rs 85,000.

The lawyer further stated that the dentist had asked the woman to come back to the clinic to get the wound fixed, but she refused and took further treatment elsewhere that allegedly made the minor wound worse.





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