Dentist Sued for Trying to Silence Patience Criticism
This dentist doesn't seem to be too keen on waiting till complaints against her evolve into a full-fledged dental malpractice lawsuit. According to a lawsuit that has been filed against Dr. Stacy Makhnevich, she attempted to prevent patients from commenting on her dental work online, and then retaliated against them when they did.
The lawsuit has been filed against the dentist who also happens to moonlight as a classical singer, by former patient Robert Lee. According to the lawsuit, he visited Dr. Makhnevich with a dental problem, and was surprised when she asked him to sign an agreement not to criticize her work online. The agreement called the Mutual Agreement to Maintain Privacy had to be signed before she agreed to work on his tooth.
Lee signed the agreement, and then went on the website Yelp to accuse her of shoddy work. According to his criticism posted on Yelp, she overcharged him by as much as $4,000. His exact comments were ‘Avoid at All Costs!.’ The dentist accused him of breaching their agreement, and retaliated by billing him $100 for every day that the negative comment on Yelp remained posted.
Lee has contacted consumer safety group Public Citizen. According to Public Citizen, the agreement that the dentist makes patients sign, restricting their rights to post any opinions about her work online, is a violation of the patient’s constitutional rights to free speech. It is also a violation of dental ethics. This case does highlight a number of interesting legal issues. Among others: Are patients free to contract away their right to free speech? Can a contractual clause prohibiting a patient from criticizing a dentist forbid the patient from sharing her opinion on line?
The agreement forms were created by a North Carolina company, and are shipped to about 2,000 doctors and dentists across the country. Thanks to the attention Lee’s lawsuit has received, the company has decided to phase out the forms, and has informed its clients not to use these anymore.
Robert Fleming is an Atlanta dental malpractice lawyer, helping injured victims of negligence by dentists, dental assistants and other dental professionals recover compensation for their injuries.
