Tooth Implant Catastrophe

[Last Lion]

Thank-you for the above information. I hope I get satisfaction without going through these hoops!

[AZjohn]

Damn, I really feel sorry for you @Last Lion. If I was biting down on a lobster cake (not really sure what that is) the last thing I would think is something hard in there, mostly an olive pit???

 

Kind of off topic but fair warning to people visiting Tucson, AZ. For some strange reason the homemade Mexican tomalleys have an olive in the center and sometimes the olive has the pit??? I learned the hard way.

 

Anyways, I wish you luck having Princess making things right and cover the costs and adding for pain and suffering and going through a year and a half procedure.

 

Living in Canada, it would be a total pain in the butt and a large financial burden to have to get a lawyer in CA to take the case.

 

Please keep us informed.

[Ombud]

California Small Claims Court limit is 10k. But I wonder if you have to file for reimbursement with your dental insurance first and only file in court for your deductible?  So you'd have to fly here 2× (once to file & once to appear) and then only get your dental insurance deductible. (Mine's $1000 annual max out of pocket, not sure about yours in Canada). So 2 RT flights for deductible .... is it worth it? No guarantee you will win

 

 

Edited October 18, 2023 by Ombud

[Last Lion]

In Canada (as far as I know and I have decent dental insurance) implants are not covered. You would only get a small contribution toward a bridge- a few hundred bucks.

 

As anyone with some dental knowledge knows, a bridge is a very poor choice to replace a tooth.

 

Implants on the other hand are a perfect tooth replacement. Until you run into an atomic olive pit!

 

 

[Lady Arwen]

I’m an endodontist and this is an interesting thread.  The OP is correct in that the second implant is a much more complicated process.  The cost seems quite high, but since I’m not familiar with the case or the practitioners involved, I won’t comment any further.

 

As far as filing suit for damages, I’m highly sceptical that the OP would be successful in receiving monetary compensation.  I would think more probably OBC or FCC.  However, I’m not a lawyer so I’m not qualified to offer advice or even my opinion.

 

I’ve had many patients travel prior to the completion of their root canal therapy.  A few of them caused damage to the tooth and some to the point of requiring extraction. Virtually all of these events are related to the patient biting on something that was unexpected.  I don’t recall anyone ever mentioning that they would seek damages, as I would have been required to present a detailed report.  This, of course, would be dependent on whether the incident was accidental, intentional or preventable.  The lawyers will decide, but I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for cash payment in the area of $7000.00

 

Just my humble opinion and I could be proven completely wrong.  Good luck to the OP. 

[tootsiescurly]

1 hour ago, Mike45LC said:

If olives are a normal part of a "lobster cake", I wonder if Princess has any liability for your accident.  There is a general rule that natural food particles might be in prepared food, and it is kind of an "eaters beware" variation on "buyers beware."  

 

"Courts have found that foreign objects in food are considered those that are not reasonably expected upon consumption. For example, stones, rocks or small pebbles may wind up in food. Glass, paper and plastic may also make their way into food. ...  However, courts have been reluctant to provide recovery simply because any type of foreign object has been found in food. For example, claims have failed for items that can reasonably be anticipated in food, such as fish bones in soup or cherry pits in cherries "

 

I hope your dental procedures go well.

 

An olive pit in a lobster cake is not normal. 

[Lady Arwen]

5 minutes ago, Last Lion said:

In Canada (as far as I know and I have decent dental insurance) implants are not covered. You would only get a small contribution toward a bridge- a few hundred bucks.

 

As anyone with some dental knowledge knows, a bridge is a very poor choice to replace a tooth.

 

Implants on the other hand are a perfect tooth replacement. Until you run into an atomic olive pit!

 

 

You are correct.  Implants are far superior to a fixed bridge.  However, the cost is much higher for implants and not an option for many people.  Some insurance companies have plans that do cover a portion of the implant.  Most always the procedures performed by an oral surgeon to prep the gum tissue are covered.

[Ombud]

8 minutes ago, Last Lion said:

In Canada (as far as I know and I have decent dental insurance) implants are not covered. You would only get a small contribution toward a bridge- a few hundred bucks.

Yeah, Canadian and Californian policies are quite different. Wishing you luck on both timeliness & costs

[Last Lion]

Thank-you for your input. The costs are accurate almost to the dollar as of this week’s consults.

Perhaps it is a bit higher because it is round two?

 

The crux of the matter seems to be expectation. You certainly are cautious eating steak. You are cautious eating cherry pie in case of a pit.

 

But the reason there was so much damage was my reasonable expectation that a lobster cake would be consistently soft.

 

 

 

 

[lx200gps]

The OP is almost certainly referring to the Lobster Cake at the Crown Grill. Coincidentally we also ate there on the same sailing as the OP a few weeks ago, though came away with no dental trauma. FWIW the CG menu does say the dish contains olive, though IIRC from what we had, it's not SUPPOSED to be in the cake but in the surrounding accompaniment. I personally like the Lobster Cake and have it any time we eat in the CG

 

Mediterranean-Style Spiny Lobster Cake,

Tarragon Foam, cured olives, grilled asparagus

[CalTexCruiser]

I'm a bit confused as to why the bone around the implant broke.

 

Was the implant recently installed and thus the bone has not yet completely healed around it?

 

My understanding is that it takes 6 months for the bone to harden around the implant, so patients should avoid applying great force on the implant until after 6 months have passed.

 

If the implant had been there for a while, perhaps the claim should be against your dentist for a shoddy implant job?

 

I think you'll have a hard time prevailing against Princess in a court of law?  You'll have to prove they failed to exercise due care in preparing your lobster cake, i.e., that their kitchen practices are not consistent with what a reasonable kitchen staff would exercise.  The legal fees to take this to court will quickly exceed your implant cost.

[Guest Snaxmuppet]

19 minutes ago, tootsiescurly said:

An olive pit in a lobster cake is not normal. 

True... but then again, getting money out of Princess isn't normal either 🤣

[Lady Arwen]

21 minutes ago, Last Lion said:

Thank-you for your input. The costs are accurate almost to the dollar as of this week’s consults.

Perhaps it is a bit higher because it is round two?

 

The crux of the matter seems to be expectation. You certainly are cautious eating steak. You are cautious eating cherry pie in case of a pit.

 

But the reason there was so much damage was my reasonable expectation that a lobster cake would be consistently soft.

 

 

 

 

I wish you luck!  I would love to be proven wrong in your case.  

[Torfamm]

2 hours ago, Last Lion said:

We were on the Princess Discovery two weeks ago when I bit into a lobster cake and damaged my tooth implant on an olive pit. Not fun.

The waiter, maitre’d, and chef apologized profusely. I went to the medical clinic first thing the next morning and was examined and treated. Medical report filed. Security report filed. Guest services notified and they provided a $200 goodwill FCC since I only had half a mouth for the last two days of the cruise.

 

On return home, I have seen my dentist and periodontist. Bottom line is a new implant procedure is required. $7,000 Canadian. 14 months to complete.

 

The Discovery Princess on board staff handled this matter in sterling fashion.
 

I have been collating reports, X-rays, etc. to send to guest relations and this is almost complete and will be sent to Princess.

What should I expect from Princess going forward? At the very least I expect them to pay for the new implant plus a FCC for the aggravation of going through this long procedure again

 

Any other advice on steps I should take?

If it matters for legal reasons we were alongside in San Francisco when the event occured.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have you contacted your travel insurance issuer? I would think you’d have to file  a claim with them before anything else can happen.

Edited October 18, 2023 by Torfamm

[Last Lion]

All good points above.

 

-Yes it was the lobster cake in the Crown Grill. Do you remember a yelp of pain if you were in there on October fifth !?!? The pit was inside the cake.

 

-The implant has been in for six years with no issues.

 

-Ombud above outlines the small claims court procedures in California. Up to $10,000 USD and no attorneys allowed for either side. I certainly hopes it doesn’t come to this but I am a retired Air Canada pilot with lots of time to pursue this if required and minimal cost to fly to LA twice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Last Lion]

Travel insurance. Haven’t heard back from them yet (Allianz) but I would be shocked if this is covered. My understanding is that emergency dental treatment is covered by travel insurance.

 

i don’t think this rates as an emergency. Love to be wrong.
 

 

[Lady Arwen]

28 minutes ago, CalTexCruiser said:

I'm a bit confused as to why the bone around the implant broke.

 

Was the implant recently installed and thus the bone has not yet completely healed around it?

 

My understanding is that it takes 6 months for the bone to harden around the implant, so patients should avoid applying great force on the implant until after 6 months have passed.

 

If the implant had been there for a while, perhaps the claim should be against your dentist for a shoddy implant job?

 

I think you'll have a hard time prevailing against Princess in a court of law?  You'll have to prove they failed to exercise due care in preparing your lobster cake, i.e., that their kitchen practices are not consistent with what a reasonable kitchen staff would exercise.  The legal fees to take this to court will quickly exceed your implant cost.

I can tell you from the perspective of a a dental professional, the dental practitioner in question is not responsible for a number of reasons.  No need to get into a lengthy and quite boring discussion, but I can assure you from what information the OP has provided it would be next to impossible for this to be related to implant failure.

 

I am almost certain that it will be deemed an unfortunate accident that was not intentional nor neglectful.  Especially if it’s proven that the menu the OP received indicated that olives were part of the accompaniment of the dish.  Princess will apologize and offer a token of goodwill.  This is only my humble opinion.

[Lady Arwen]

25 minutes ago, Last Lion said:

All good points above.

 

-Yes it was the lobster cake in the Crown Grill. Do you remember a yelp of pain if you were in there on October fifth !?!? The pit was inside the cake.

 

-The implant has been in for six years with no issues.

 

-Ombud above outlines the small claims court procedures in California. Up to $10,000 USD and no attorneys allowed for either side. I certainly hopes it doesn’t come to this but I am a retired Air Canada pilot with lots of time to pursue this if required and minimal cost to fly to LA twice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I wish you luck!

[Rick&Jeannie]

I know you mentioned having Allianz insurance... Does that mean that Allianz was the *only* insurance in play?  Did you have the Princess insurance?  (I don't know if that would make much difference...and whether it even applies for Canada.)  So sorry you're have to go through this!

[Cruisintimer]

Be careful when eating the specialty desserts, bit down on a frozen skittles of all things and was grateful I didn't bust a tooth!  Hard pass on those in the future.

[Last Lion]

Allianz is my travel insurance company. I have never taken the Princess insurance.

[sunviking90]

I agree that you should at least attempt to claim this through your travel insurance. I will warn you though, insurance will usually classify a dental accident as something (another body, pavement, hockey stick, etc) hitting your tooth. The tooth breaking ( or in this case the implant) from something you put in your mouth even unknowingly won’t usually qualify.

I am a retired dental office manager and dealt with a few of these claims.

I hope you get something from Princess that will at least help with your costs.

Your story reminded me a bit of an incident with a patient of ours who was out to dinner with 10 friends. She broke a crown that had been placed only 2 years before while biting into something that should not have been there. The restaurant in an attempt to make it right comped the meal and drinks for the entire party. Nice for them, but it didn’t pay for her tooth to be repaired. Her insurance wouldn’t pay either as the crown was only 2 years old, so she was out of luck.

[Seacruise]

6 hours ago, RD64 said:

If it goes legal it will have to be filed in Florida I believe.

This is not true for those of us from Canada.

 

You see Princess has an Office here in Canada (Vancouver) and the Supreme Court of BC ruled a few years back that because of this cases can be filed in BC. The cruise contract does not apply as to Florida etc.  The weird thing in this is HAL also has a Office here and Carnival does not.
The one thing is you may want to check on this and see if something has changed.

The downside it is very hard to sue for this type of thing in Canada.

[theloo]

Wow, I bit down on a bread roll in the MDR on my cruise and cracked my molar.  It didn't hurt, so I just went home and went to my dentist a week later.  I did have to have a crown, but never even thought to file a claim on my travel insurance.  

[KruzPrincess]

5 hours ago, lx200gps said:

The OP is almost certainly referring to the Lobster Cake at the Crown Grill. Coincidentally we also ate there on the same sailing as the OP a few weeks ago, though came away with no dental trauma. FWIW the CG menu does say the dish contains olive, though IIRC from what we had, it's not SUPPOSED to be in the cake but in the surrounding accompaniment. I personally like the Lobster Cake and have it any time we eat in the CG

 

Mediterranean-Style Spiny Lobster Cake,

Tarragon Foam, cured olives, grilled asparagus

So, most likely, there were olives on the plate if this was in the Crown Grill? Just guessing, but they’ll say the pit wasn’t in the crab cake and was just served in the olive mixture served with it. They’ll claim anyone should be careful when eating olives similar to fish/bones or cherries/pits. Makes it more complicated. JMO.