Court of Appeal doubles damages to be paid by dentist

A woman was yesterday awarded almost Lm500 in damages after the Court of Appeal confirmed that her dentist had not adequately informed her of her treatment options.

Vanessa Muscat had sued dentist Charles Fenech saying that in 1996 she had undergone dental work to improve the appearance of her front teeth. She claimed that the intervention had been unsuccessful and so she asked the court to order the dentist to make good the damages she had sustained.

The First Hall of the Civil Court had found in favour of Ms Muscat and had concluded that Dr Fenech had failed to sufficiently inform her of the treatment options that were available to her.

Dr Fenech was ordered to pay Ms Muscat Lm240 in damages.

Both Ms Muscat and Dr Fenech appealed to the Court of Appeal composed of Chief Justice Vincent Degaetano, Mr Justice Albert J. Magri and Mr Justice Tonio Mallia.

Ms Muscat appealed on the damages award while Dr Fenech objected to the court finding him liable for the damages.

The appellate court noted that the first court had not found that Dr Fenech had acted in a negligent or imprudent manner. What the First Hall of the Civil Court had concluded was that he had not explained to Ms Muscat the options she had in order to assist her to choose the procedure to be adopted.

Dr Fenech denied he had failed to explain the procedures to Ms Muscat.

On her part, Ms Muscat said that Dr Fenech had only told her to leave everything in his hands. The first court, after hearing both parties, had opted to accept Ms Muscat's version.

The Court of Appeal added that it would not lightly override the first court's appreciation of the evidence it had heard, and that there were no grounds for so doing in this case.

When referring to the damages award, the Court of Appeal noted that the first court had ordered Dr Fenech to reimburse Ms Muscat the cost of the dental procedures.

But Ms Muscat said she had not worked for five months after the intervention and had lost an income of Lm241.

The Court of Appeal therefore confirmed the judgment of the first court but ordered Dr Fenech to pay Ms Muscat Lm481 in damages.