By Magdelena Harding, Dental Specialist Financial Adviser at Wesleyan Financial Services.

In dental practices today, it’s rare for patients to receive care from just one named dentist. Instead, treatment is often delivered by a team of professionals, including associates, hygienists, therapists and nurses.

While this collaborative approach can improve efficiency, it also means that patients are more likely to take legal action against the practice as a whole if something goes wrong – rather than the individual clinician involved.

This shift brings the concept of vicarious liability into sharp focus. 

Commercial Manager, Kabir Ahmed, for Wesleyan Financial Services, shares his views on the topical question of whether vicarious liability should be split among associates.

Two years ago, a bit like anything the General Dental Council does lately, our oil-fuelled central heating boiler was condemned. It was old and tired, was wasting money and was basically unsafe – yes, am still talking about the boiler, but, you know, there are parallels there.