A speech therapist is suing her dentist for nearly £1 million claiming botched wisdom tooth surgery has ruined her career by leaving her in agony when she talks.
Alison Winterbotham, 55, claims she was injured while having her lower right wisdom tooth removed by dentist, Dr Arash Shahrak, in November 2020 after suffering painful gum inflammation.
Her lingual nerve, which supplies feeling to the tongue, was virtually severed during the procedure, it is alleged.
She says the near constant burning pain is driving her ‘nuts’ and is even worse when she speaks.
Claiming £956,528 in compensation at the High Court, she accuses Dr Shahrak of negligently failing to advise her about the potential risk of major nerve damage before her tooth was pulled out.
But he denies all blame, insisting that he gave his patient comprehensive advice about the hazards of surgery before it went ahead, and that he had no reason to assess her as ‘high risk’.
Giving evidence, Mrs Winterbotham, from Cambridge, likened her pain to a constant burn, explaining: ‘My tongue is burning and tingling all the time and I’m in pain.
‘Every time I move my tongue to talk a little bit, the nerve gets hyper-stimulated so that it makes the burning and tingling even worse.
‘It’s worse when I speak.’
Mrs Winterbotham said she ‘desperately’ wants to continue her career.
But she added she has been unable to return to speech therapy and can only see two or three counselling clients a day as she needs to take breaks from talking.
‘Even seeing this many patients can feel like a struggle,’ she said. ‘If I try to see four clients a day, it feels unmanageable.’
Explaining the impact on her client, her barrister Camilla Church told Judge Neil Moody KC: ‘The experts agree that the chronic pain the claimant experiences has significantly and adversely impacted on the quality of her sleep and significantly impacts upon her ability to eat and drink.
‘The experts agree that the claimant’s ability to speak has been adversely impacted by the chronic neuropathic pain she experiences and that, given that the claimant is a speech and language therapist, her ability to speak impacts her ability to work.
‘The experts agree that the index injury and consequent neuropathic pain will impact on her ability to work as a counsellor.
‘The experts also agree that the chronic pain the claimant is experiencing has had a significant impact on her social and family life and that the claimant has become socially withdrawn as a consequence of the chronic pain she experiences.’
The barrister went on to claim that Dr Shahrak – based at a surgery in Sawston, near Cambridge – was at fault in failing to secure his patient’s ‘informed consent’ before removing her wisdom tooth.
She said Mrs Winterbotham was not ‘advised adequately or at all’ as to the risk of nerve injury and was not offered a bone scan to assess the level of that risk.
‘She was not advised as to alternative treatment by way of coronectomy, which would have reduced the risk of injury to both the inferior alveolar nerve and the lingual nerve,’ she added.
A coronectomy procedure would have been a safer option, as it involves removing solely the crown of the affected wisdom tooth while keeping the roots intact, she said.
However, Dr Shahrak denies any fault and insisted that he did everything to ensure his patient knew all the potential hazards, including the risk of the injury she suffered.
In his witness statement, he said that he offered all the essential information required for Mrs Winterbotham to make an informed decision.
They also dispute the amount she is claiming, suggesting that her near £1 million claim is too high and that she could do more work than she does.
Neuro speech therapy expert Robena Dhadda, giving evidence, told the judge that she believes part of the reason Mrs Winterbotham has not returned fully to work is a lack of confidence.
With psychological counselling, she could get back into speech therapy, she said, adding: ‘I believe she could realistically aim to regain 70 to 80% of her pre-incident working capacity.
‘She hasn’t tried to get back into speech therapy. I think it’s about confidence and low self-esteem why she hasn’t tried to get back into speech and language therapy.’
For Mrs Winterbotham’s case against the dentist to succeed, the court was told she must first establish ‘breach of duty’ in the dentist failing to highlight all the risks and to point out possible alternative treatments.
If she gets over that hurdle, the court heard she must then prove ‘on the balance of probabilities’ that the nerve damage would have been avoided if she had had alternative coronectomy treatment.
The trial is continuing.
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