to Donoghue V Stephenson [1932] which established modern law of negligence, also defined as the “neighbour” principle (Leoisaac.com, 2018). This situation the dentist put his own needs of not wanting to lose money by not working before the safety of patients with care and skills that another dentist would have given.

Duty of care or ‘The professional duty of candour’ the General Dental Council (GDC) states that every healthcare professional must be open and honest with patients when something goes wrong with treatment or care which causes, or has the potential to cause, harm or distress (Gdc-uk.org, 2016). In this case the patient was kept unaware by the dentist and practise manager that he had numbed the wrong side of the mouth and could have potentially filled the incorrect tooth.

Had she been made aware what happened and felt that she wanted things taken further to Civil Court, The Bolam test would have been used to determine if duty of care had been breached. Bolam v Friern Hospital Management Committee (1957) is a case that lays down the typical rule for assessing appropriate standard of reasonable care in negligence cases involving skilled professionals (Timms Solicitors, 2018). Under Bolam, the patient would have to prove medical negligence firstly show that there was duty of care between the doctor and patient, which is usually straightforward, secondly that the act or omission of the doctor breached the duty of care (TheFreeDictionary.com, 2012). The dentist failed the duty of care as the patient was not informed of his mistake.

As a result of the above situation, the patient was unnecessarily given LA which carries risks such as Bells Palsy and nearly given a restoration that was not needed, all due to the dentist prioritising his financial needs over his own and patient’s health. Consequently, duty of care was breached and an injury was caused.

Ethics

Ethics is system of moral principle, they affect how people make