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STENDAL, Germany: The appeals chamber of the Stendal regional court has closed the lawsuit against a dentist from Havelberg in Germany. The public prosecutor accused him of having pulled 11 of a patient’s teeth in April 2010 without valid consent from the patient, who was under general anaesthetic. According to the accusation, no consent had been given for five of the teeth.
Additionally, the dentist was accused of having failed to ensure that the woman underwent the necessary medical treatment in September 2010 despite tangible indications of an infection of the maxillary sinus.
In November 2012, the Stendal regional court sentenced the man to imprisonment of one year and three months without probation for assault. It also imposed an occupational ban of two years. Following the defendant’s appeal against that judgment, the court reduced the prison sentence to one year and two months.
An appeal by the dentist to the Naumburg higher regional court was successful. In October 2013, the judgment was reversed and the lawsuit was referred to a different chamber of the court for further hearing. At the request of the defence and the public prosecutor, the Stendal regional court closed the lawsuit in March 2014 for compensation of €3,500 to the injured patient. After the payment had gone through, the case was officially closed.
The presiding judge stated that the tooth extraction had presumably not amounted to assault. The patient had been informed sufficiently in writing about the risks associated with the surgery. The only unanswered question would be whether the accused had underplayed the risks verbally, the judge said. This could only be clarified by questioning the patient. However, her credibility is in doubt, as her previous statements were inconsistent.
