'I'll keep fighting for dad over botched dentistry'

The daughter of a man who took his own life after experiencing years of pain linked to botched dental surgery said she had "lost faith in the system".

Clive Worthington, from Harlow, Essex, travelled to Hungary for dental implants in 2008.

Several follow-up procedures from the same dentist back in the UK over the next seven years were unsuccessful.

The government said it was addressing a so-called loophole which meant the 81-year-old missed out on compensation.

Last week, an inquest concluded Mr Worthington's death in 2022 was a suicide.

Senior Essex coroner Lincoln Brookes said the "long-term consequences" of Mr Worthington's unsuccessful dental surgery "impacted significantly on his mental health and ability to cope with daily life".

In 2017, the General Dental Council (GDC) found Dr Eszter Gömbös, who was employed by Perfect Profiles, at fault for the work.

Mr Worthington was awarded £117,378 in damages and legal costs at Chelmsford County Court in November 2019 - one of the highest pay-outs for dental negligence in the UK.

But the insurer which covered Dr Gömbös - the Dental Defence Union (DDU) - argued "discretionary indemnity" and refused to pay.

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Source: BBC News, 12 October 2023

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