Dentists rally to help colleague pay £10k of legal fees
Keith Watson tried to sue a patient, but had to abandon the case and pay a huge bill
Dentists around the UK have raised more than £10,000 to pay costs incurred by a colleague in Scotland who sued a patient for wrongly accusing him of negligence.
Keith Watson was only nine months qualified and working in a practice in Dundee when a patient, Andrew McIntosh, made a series of accusations against him. The case eventually came before the GDC where Watson was completely exonerated.
Furious that his name had been publicly dragged through the mud for something he had never done, the dentist determined to sue the patient over the wrongful accusations. However, after almost two years of pursuing McIntosh at a cost of many thousands of pounds, Mr Watson reluctantly had to make the decision to end the case.
I set out to teach this guy a lesson and I hope he will think twice before repeating his actions
Keith Watson
A court then ordered the dentist to pay the £10,000 legal fees incurred by his wrongful accuser. He agreed to do this in monthly instalments.
When the story appeared in the national press, colleagues around the country were incensed at his treatment and set up a fund to raise the money to cover the legal costs.
“Everything that man said about me was a pack of lies. He was just out to get himself money.
“What I was put through by the GDC was horrendous. It should never, ever have got that far. My name was dragged through the mud while his was kept private. So I was determined to teach him a lesson and the only way of doing that was by suing him and getting his name out in the public domain.
“But in the end I’d spent a lot of my own money and I’m not a wealthy man. And I had no idea how long I would have to keep spending money to win the case. So, I had to pack it in.
“It was then that I was told that I would have to meet his costs which started at around £3,000 but somehow soared to £10,000.
“I set out to teach this guy a lesson and even though I didn’t see the case through I hope he will think twice before repeating his actions.
“I wanted to make all the dentists in Tayside aware of him so at least I have accomplished that. I only regret not being able to see it through to the end.”
More information
Supportive comments from across the profession can be found at: GDPUK.com. The fund can be reached at www.gofundme.com/keithwatson
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