A man who claims negligence led him to swallow a dental implant driver that required surgery and led to disfigurement has filed a lawsuit against two dentists and a practice in Illinois, according to a story published on May 3 in the Cook County Record.
Edwin Anderson filed a lawsuit on April 17 in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, against Drs. Kerry Voit and Irbad Chowdhury and Kerry Voit DDS of Chicago, claiming they allowed a dental implant driver to negligently enter his digestive tract, according to the story.
In addition to a jury trial, Anderson is seeking more than $50,000 for medical bills as well as damages for pain and suffering and loss of normal life functions due to disfigurement caused by surgical procedures that were necessary after he ingested the implant driver.
In March 2024, Anderson underwent dental implant surgery performed by Chowdhury. After the surgery, Anderson had approximately a half-dozen follow-up appointments where he was treated by Voit. During one of the treatments with Voit, an implant driver reportedly slipped down Anderson’s esophagus without his knowledge or being told, according to the story.
In September 2024, imaging revealed that a foreign metallic object, which was later identified as a dental implant driver, was lodged in Anderson's mid-ascending colon. The lodged object required surgery and purportedly led to complications, including abdominal pain and bowel obstruction.
Anderson claims that Chowdhury and Voit failed in their duty of care by not employing preventive measures, like using physical barriers, to prevent these types of accidents. Furthermore, Anderson accuses the dentists of not informing him that he may have swallowed the implant driver, according to the story.
