Message Boards
Today's Active Topics Today's Active Cases Browse Forum Categories My Recent Activity My Messages Private Groups My Marked Threads My Subscriptions
Today's Active Images Today's Active Polls Most Active Topics Global Townie Map Advanced Message Board Search Message Board Terms of Use

Corporate Profile: Dental Justice Benjamin Lund, Editor, Dentaltown Magazine

More by this author (119)
by Benjamin Lund, Editor,
Dentaltown Magazine

In our increasingly litigious society, it pays to be prepared. Even when faced with an obvious frivolous lawsuit, it can take up a considerable amount of your time and resources. A new company has emerged to help dentists deal with those trifling lawsuits, and more. Dental Justice, a counterclaim/ countersuit service, protects dentists from the impact of frivolous malpractice lawsuits by holding the proponents accountable in different arenas. It works as a supplement to conventional dental malpractice policies, and its primary goal is deterring the filing of meritless suits. Dentaltown Magazine recently interviewed Dr. Vincent Monticciolo, the dental director and administrator of Dental Justice, to learn more about the company and all of the legal programs it has to offer dentists.

How did Dental Justice get its start?
Monticciolo: Dental Justice is a subsidiary of Medical Justice, which was conceptualized in 1998 by Founder and CEO Jeffrey Segal, M.D., a board-certified neurosurgeon. Dr. Segal practiced for 10 years in California and Indiana and during his career, recognized the tort system did little to dissuade malpractice plaintiffs – particularly those who knowingly filed frivolous lawsuits. Dr. Segal's innovation focused on deterring the filing of frivolous lawsuits by enabling viable responses and remedies with counterclaims and countersuits. The company's first patents were filed in 1999. In 2002, with the signing of its first distribution agreement, Medical Justice commercialized a uniquely proactive service. By 2003, the U.S. Patent Office had issued several patents covering the company's protective system. Dental Justice is the same patented program focused solely on dentists.

Dr. Monticciolo, tell me a little about your background. What is your experience in
handling malpractice suits?
Monticciolo: I have been practicing for 18 years in general dentistry. I graduated from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry in 1990. I relocated from Michigan to Florida in 1998 after my wife was accepted into a dermatology specialty residency in Florida. In 2000 I graduated with an MBA from the University of South Florida while continuing to practice full-time. After being introduced to the Medical Justice program while reading my wife's medical journals, I realized that this would be a very powerful adjunct to the dental field. Since Medical Justice works with some of the most experienced attorneys in defending frivolous lawsuits and Web defamation it became apparent that aligning with Medical Justice would be the strongest protection available to the dental field. Dr. Segal agreed and Dental Justice was born as a subsidiary of Medical Justice. The Dental Justice team is relentlessly committed to protecting the assets, integrity, and reputation of our member dentists. Dental Justice is proven, cost effective and the only proactive deterrent available to protect you from a legal system that leaves dentists vulnerable to frivolous claims.

What are your day-to-day responsibilities as the dental director and administrator
of Dental Justice?
Monticciolo: To ensure that current and new member cases and questions are handled immediately. We also offer a toll free STAT line to current members to handle all questions and new threats that arise on a daily basis.

What is the potential market for your services? How many dental malpractice suits
are filed each year?
Monticciolo: There are currently approximately 140,000 dentists that are potential clients needing our services (according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2004). The total price tag for malpractice in 2002 came to a whopping $25 billion (according to The Lawsuit Lottery: The Hijacking of Justice in America by Douglass S. Lodmell & Benjamin R. Lodmell).
Here's what dentists can expect as a Dental Justice Plan Member:
  • Reduced risk of being named in a frivolous suit
  • Less time away from their practice
  • Gain more control in a once one-sided attack
  • Hold the other side accountable for inappropriate actions against dentists
  • Recourse if sued
  • Provide a barrier to Web defamation
You have indicated that there are increased threats on dental practices. What are they?
Monticciolo: As the economy continues to challenge many people, it seems as though the number of disgruntled patients increases. Dental Justice protects the dentist from not only the frivolous lawsuits but also against Web defamation and unwarranted refund requests.

Dental Justice also provides the DISAPPEAR program to its members. DISAPPEAR stands for: Definitive Innovative Solution Addressing Perturbed Patients Expecting A Refund. The DISAPPEAR program is a value-added service to help dentists deal effectively with patients who either unjustly demand their money back or request additional services at no charge.

The Dental Justice team provides time-tested templates for a response to such patients. Through this service to members Dental Justice provides an assertive way to say "No" while keeping a positive face on an admittedly delicate situation.

If the dentist decides that he or she wants to give a full or partial refund, Dental Justice will make available templates for a release designed to minimize the likelihood the patient will prevail in any future action.

Please give some examples of the services you provide using actual cases as examples. Monticciolo: We use a three-pronged approach: The Deterrent program provides the dentist with copyright-protected template language to supplement existing patient agreements. The language states that the patient will not sue for a frivolous reason, not any reason, just a frivolous one. More importantly, if there is a legitimate dispute, both the patient and the dentist agree to use specific qualified "expert" witnesses. An expert witness is considered someone who is on good standing with their specific professional organizations. Of our members that have implemented this template language, their suit rate is less than 0.5 percent per year; far below the national average. The Deterrent program also includes the Web Anti-Defamation program that protects dentists from derogatory, anonymous postings on Internet sites and blogs.

Next, the Early Action program can be implemented if a dentist is threatened with a suit or actually named in a suit. The goal of this program is to assist getting the dentist dropped from a meritless suit sooner rather than later. With the Early Action program, 90 percent of intent-to-sue letters never mature into an actual suit.

The Early Action program also includes the DISAPPEAR program. If a dentist receives an unjustified demand from a patient for a refund, Dental Justice can provide template language to firmly say "no" to the demand while maintaining a positive tone. Also, the Early Action program includes the Web Anti-Defamation program, which provides a number of tools to enable removal of derogatory posts on the Internet.

The Countersuit/Counteraction program is implemented after a meritless case goes to trial and the dentist prevails. Dental Justice allocates up to $100,000 to pursue counterclaims where viable.

What are the most common misconceptions about dental malpractice?
Monticciolo: "Practicing good dentistry will prevent me from a malpractice case." False! Most malpractice lawsuits are frivolous. Harvard researchers found that four out of five malpractice lawsuits had no negligence.

How will my dental malpractice carrier react to using your services? Can your services affect the coverage my carrier will provide if a case makes it to court?
Monticciolo: If a dentist is named in a suit, the first call should naturally be to his primary professional liability carrier who will assign defense counsel. The dentist should also contact Dental Justice. The carrier-supplied defense counsel is the captain of the ship. He/she will call all the shots. Typically, Dental Justice sends an informative letter to the plaintiff's counsel detailing the dentist's plan membership. The message is designed to inform the plaintiff's counsel that the dentist has any number of potential pre-funded remedies if non-meritorious case proceeds onward to court. Such letters are sent only after approved by carrier-supplied defense counsel.

Dental Justice has the support of some of the largest professional liability carriers in the country. The reason: They understand the mission and the results. More importantly, they understand the process; namely, the defense counsel has the final say on whether or not to send the letter, the timing of the letter and even the specific content of the letter.

What are the most common reasons that patients go to the next level with their dentist?
Monticciolo: Unfortunately, in today's society everyone with a gripe wants someone to pay for it, regardless if it is justified or not! According to the authors of The Lawsuit Lottery, "Americans have come to believe that nothing is their fault; that someone else is always to blame. They also have a growing sense of entitlement to compensation from anyone and everyone or any entity or entities that may have contributed in any way, direct or otherwise, to any injury, real or not, regardless of personal fault."

What is the background of the attorneys involved with your organization?
Monticciolo: Michael Sacopulos is the organization's general counsel. He assisted in developing the critical legal underpinnings of Medical Justice when the company was in its infancy. He has extensive experience in medical malpractice defense. Mr. Sacopulos graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard College and holds a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from Indiana University Law School. The company has an extensive network of contacts including attorneys across the country with a range of experience including those focused on defense in front of licensing boards and cyber-law.
Review of Dental Justice Benefits:
  1. Establishment of pre-emptive copyrighted contracts to deter plaintiffs.
  2. Proactive early action strategy that can be executed in the event you
    are sued.
  3. Pursuit of counterclaims against expert witnesses in their professional societies and state licensing boards.
  4. Published database of members on the Internet to notify plaintiffs and their representatives that the dentist is backed by an organization with
    the expertise, will, and funds to fight back.
  5. License to use Patient-Dentist contract templates.
  6. Access to DISAPPEAR Program to address unwarranted demands for refunds or write-offs.
  7. Allocation of up to $100,000 to pursue viable counterclaims.
  8. Toll-free member STAT line.
You also provide an anti-defamation program. Can you explain what that is?
Monticciolo: As you know, a fast increasing number of doctor rating Web sites are appearing on the Internet each year. In fact, we monitored four major rating Web sites last year. We now know of more than 28. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Generally, there is nothing to prevent a patient, patient's family member, staff or colleagues from anonymously posting any type of information on these Web sites. As dentists we have no recourse in forcing factually inaccurate posts to be pulled from the Internet either. Until now.

Dental Justice provides the dentist with patient-friendly copyright-protected templates that can supplement standard patient agreements to prevent broadcast of defamatory information before it happens. The term states that the patient cannot put any information about a dentist on the Internet or other broadcast media without the dentist's prior written permission.

Dental Justice also notifies the major doctor rating Web sites to let the sites know which dentists have permission to implement this program with their patients. This persuades the hosting site to prevent placement up front or promote the removal of postings about that dentist.

Do you provide any defense services in court, or do you simply work to prevent legal action that reaches a judge?
Monticciolo: Our PEER program stands for "Physician Enlisted-Expert Rebuttal". The program works to match one or more volunteer experts in a dentist's specialty to assist with the dentist's defense in deposition or court should the dentist be sued. On the witness stand, the volunteer will be able to state honestly that he/she is not being paid anything for his/her time. Juries are generally accustomed to hearing the exact opposite; namely, the experts are being paid $5,000, $10,000 or even more to just spend the day in court. Right or wrong, at those rates, juries often conclude that the testimony is bought and paid for. The PEER Program provides a positive alternative.

What are the most common requests for help that you receive from your clients?
Monticciolo: The most common scenarios include unjustified patient demands for refunds or procedure revisions at no cost, requests for patient records, "intent to sue" letters and defamation on the Internet.

What is the cost of membership of Dental Justice, and what can members immediately expect when they sign up?
Monticciolo: The annual membership costs $1,195 and up. Membership costs vary based on the dentist's specialty and the type of services provided, for example, sedation and/or implants.

Once a dentist signs up, within a few days, the dentist will receive a welcome packet that contains all of the copyrighted-template language for implementation into the patient intake paperwork, immediate access to the toll-free STAT line, and access to the complete array of programs previously discussed.

For more information on Dental Justice, please visit www.dentaljustice.com, or call
877-DENJUST (336-5878).
Dentaltown Magazine
September 2025
Dentaltown Magazine September 2025 Read Current Issue Read Archived Issues
Sponsors
Townie Perks
Townie® Poll
Who or what do you turn to for most financial advice regarding your practice?
  
Site Menu
Message Boards Magazine Continuing Education Podcasts Blogs Classifieds Dental News Events Townie® Poll Ebooks Townie Choice Awards
Company Info
Contact Us Advertise With Us Howard Farran DDS, MBA Policies and Agreements
Site Help
Sally Gross, Member Services Specialist
Phone: +1-480-445-9710
Email: sally@farranmedia.com
©2025 Dentaltown, a division of Farran Media • All Rights Reserved
9633 S. 48th Street Suite 200 • Phoenix, AZ 85044 • Phone:+1-480-598-0001 • Fax:+1-480-598-3450