British national commits suicide due to botched Hungarian dental work

Clive Worthington endured prolonged suffering before ultimately surrendering to the battle against his dental pain. His family is devastated and wishes to draw attention to his specific case to honour his memory.

In 2008, Clive Worthington, a man from Essex, then 66, had travelled from the UK to Hungary for dental implants when complications arose concerning his dental health.

A deteriorating situation

Mr Worthington found a dentist, who also practiced in the UK, and he fitted him with a new denture. However, it was inadequately done, resulting in chips and cracks. This led to infections and seven arduous years of various procedures as the dentist attempted to fix his denture. Throughout this period, the patient lost a substantial amount of weight and grappled with depression and anxiety. Due to the pain, he couldn’t properly eat or carry out his daily activities. He suffered from a misaligned jaw, persistent migraines and gum pain, all due to his botched denture.

“He was constantly going to various different dentists, asking if there is anything they can do to ease his sufferings,” his daughter recalled.

In 2015, his dentist told him that their medical expertise had reached its limit, and he should contact their insurers.

Denied compensation

The General Dental Council (GDC), a British dental regulatory authority, investigated his case for a year and a half and found his dentist guilty of misconduct.

Mr Worthington was granted substantial compensation of nearly £120,000 (equivalent to around HUF 50 million). This sum was intended to be provided by the dentist’s insurer, the Dental Deference Union. However, in the UK, there exists a system known as discretionary compensation, which essentially permits the insurer to accept or reject claims without offering an explanation.

And reject they did, leaving Clive Worthington and his family without any compensation or justification whatsoever.

This was the final straw for Mr Worthington, who took his own life in 2022. At the time of his passing, the family had yet to receive a penny from the promised compensation.

Gina Tilly, his daughter, commented:

“I simply do not want my father’s death to have been in vain because of this.”
“I will keep asking questions and I’ll keep fighting to try and get things changed.”

The Department of Health and Social Care in the UK is still reviewing the dentist’s case for clinical negligence.

The GDC stands by the Department of Health in their work and states their support and cooperation.

Following the resolution of the case, the GDC permitted the dentist to continue practising under constant supervision and mandated that any potential employer be forewarned about the previous professional misconduct.

Read more about Hungarian healthcare HERE.

Featured image: illustration

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