Dental lawyer bites back at peers after libel success

APOLOGY: Axa repents and pays damages for false statement

A dentist-turned-solicitor has spoken out about how his firm is the target of prejudice from his former peers after settling a libel claim against an insurance company which circulated material suggesting he and his fellow partner in the firm had behaved unprofessionally.

The Dental Law Partnership in Cheshire - which specialises in dental negligence claims - settled with insurers Axa after one of its operating companies, Denplan, internally circulated statements from a third party accusing partners Greg Waldon and David Corless-Smith of failing to comply with court and professional codes.

Axa has apologised unreservedly to the firm, which is set to be published in the Gazette next week, and paid unspecified damages.

An Axa spokesman said it had no further comment to make.

Mr Waldon said that although he was pleased the matter had been resolved, and commended Axa for being 'up front' about events, he was fed up with negative attitudes directed at the firm.

'We work in a small niche area, and for a while now we have received reports about certain people saying certain things about us and making derogatory comments in general, particularly from the dental side,' he said.

'Because both David and I were previously dentists, some people in the dentistry profession think that turning your back on it is unseemly.

But the British Dental Association acknowledges that dentists get it wrong sometimes, and we provide a good service that no one else can provide so well because of our backgrounds.'

Paula Rohan