title: Malpractice--a plaintiff's perspective.
abstract: Evaluation of malpractice litigation considers any breach of the fiduciary responsibility of the dentist, violations of the standard of care, comparative patient negligence, possible defenses such as honest mistake and causation. Issues in determining damages and mitigation are also discussed and a series of questions is offered concerning evidence for various dental procedures. Emerging trends in litigation include disregard of manufacturers' precautionary instructions in using new materials.
authors.affiliation: School of Dentistry, University of California at San Francisco, USA.
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Zinman
mesh_terms: D003764:Dental Materials; D003792:Dental Records / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D003812:Dentist-Patient Relations; D005376:Financial Management / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D006801:Humans; D007258:Informed Consent / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D016365:Liability, Legal; D008318:Malpractice / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D010344:Patient Advocacy / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D016312:Treatment Refusal / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence
chemical_list: D003764:Dental Materials