Our dental malpractice attorneys’ expertise consistently proves critical to effective cross-examination of opposing experts and asserting successful defenses that often turn on a standard of care or causation issue that might be missed without a thorough understanding of dentistry and the law.
See also: Medical Malpractice
Our dental malpractice services are limited to defending dentists who face a legal action brought by a patient. We do not represent patients in malpractice lawsuits against their dentist.
No claim can be litigated without an intimate knowledge of the law unique to dental malpractice. Recent legislative efforts at tort reform have resulted in a modest decrease in the number of dentistry-related lawsuits. At the same time, however, these efforts have produced a complicated set of statutes and appellate decisions.
Our knowledge ensures that we advise clients proactively to avoid legal pitfalls inherent in contemporary dentistry, identify and pursue innovative legal arguments, and aggressively pursue motions to dismiss or limit the scope of the plaintiff’s claims.
Our dental malpractice attorneys are experienced trial lawyers with expertise in trying dental malpractice, personal injury, and other professional liability cases. We have defended at trial numerous cases against nursing homes, cardiologists, neurologists, urologists, nurses, hospitals, dentists, and providers in virtually all aspects of health care. We are prepared to try every case and believe that preparation gives our clients the strongest tactical advantage and the best position to achieve a favorable outcome.
Our experience and integrity as lawyers have allowed us to establish good relationships with highly qualified, credible local and national specialists to serve as expert witnesses. Our contacts are not limited to the courtroom and provide access to specialists for consultation on strategy and the dental and legal issues confronting our clients. Partnering with health professionals benefits our clients and strengthens our ties with the healthcare community across the country.
A significant challenge in any dental malpractice case is cross-examining the opposing party’s witnesses. We have seen cases dismissed or settled for minimal amounts after the deposition of the plaintiff’s expert who was forced to concede faulty assumptions, incomplete information, or an incorrect analysis that destroyed their opinions. Our attorneys have deposed countless experts. We also maintain an expert witness library with prior expert trial and deposition testimony. We research every expert’s education, training, publications, certifications, experience, and background. We can recognize and address theories and tactics used by the opposing party’s counsel. As a result, we can often predict and defuse expert criticisms before they are rendered.
There is no question the cost of dental malpractice cases keeps going up. The rising cost impacts what dentists pay for liability insurance and, in turn, what they must charge for their services.
We strive to reduce this expense, from coordinating the work to be done with other defendants (when possible) to utilizing state-of-the-art technology that streamlines communication, document preparation and legal research.
We look to dismiss or limit cases at the earliest juncture. This approach includes looking for innovative legal arguments and constantly monitoring changes and developments in statutory and case law affecting dental malpractice issues. We use video conferencing facilities and on-line reporting capability to reduce travel and processing costs. Our background as dental malpractice attorneys also means we review medical and dental records and process information faster and less expensively than attorneys with less experience in this area.
Schneider & Onofry meets the legal needs of companies and individuals throughout Arizona from offices in Phoenix and Yuma.
Schneider & Onofry is structured to meet the anticipated needs of specific groups of clients, ranging from individuals and families to major corporations.
