A Good Dental Management Consultant Can Cost a Lot, But a Bad One Can Cost Much More
Over 100 Minneapolis-area dentists were just awarded $130 million by a jury in a lawsuit the group files against a dental management company, alleging that American Dental Partners subsidiary PDHC overstepped their 1996 agreement.
The dentists claim that the management group took control of their finances, prevented them from accessing their money, delayed in approving equipment purchases, and granted itself excessive service fees. Furthermore, the dentists also allege that PDHC interfered with the scheduling of appointments and insisted on handling all complaints from patients.
“PDHC and its non-dentist businesspeople have unilaterally extended control and involvement in a manner that constitutes the practice of dentistry,” read the lawsuit. After a trial that lasted a month, the jury found the dental management company guilty of breach of contract, breach of good faith and defamation. The company was ordered to pay $88 million in damages and $42 million in punitive damages.