Complaint Review: Dr. Daniel Drake

got to the point (in January of 2016) that I felt as though Dr. Drake was simply having me come back repeatedly and doing nothing to "solve" the problem. I was having to pay to have someone drive me to each of the visits and in some instances, Dr. Drake's office required payment from me as well. At which time, I expressed my frustration at having to pay for services for which I really wasn't receiving.  In addition, whenever I would call to schedule an appointment, telling the receptionist that she was, "still in pain" and "unable to eat regularly," the receptionist would put off giving her an appointment, and in one instance, actually lied, stating the dentist was out of town, when in fact he was not. I uncovered this lie by having someone else call the office to make an appointment for the same time that Dr. Drake was supposedly out of town, and was given an appointment.  The next time I went to Dr. Drake’s office, I confronted the receptionist about the lie, but naturally she denied it and actually became verbally abusive toward me.  In fact, when I saw Dr. Drake to speak to him about it, he actually ended up storming out of the office, refusing to treat me.  Shortly thereafter, I received a letter from Dr. Drake stating that he would not continue to “treat” me.

In March/April of 2016, due to my being unable to eat regularly and without pain, I went to see another dentist who performed a CT Scan on me.  After which, he informed me that Dr. Drake failed to properly put in the implants as they were set too far outside of the bone area (implying that malpractice had occurred with regard to Dr. Drake).  In addition, he stated that the bottom denture was faulty and was unable to align properly.  He advised me that everything would need to be redone and that I would now require additional implants.  In sum, the additional treatment would end up costing me thousands of more dollars to correct what Dr. Drake did and allow me to eat regularly.   

Within one week of my visit to this other dentist, I received a check in the mail from Dr. Drake for $2,600, reflecting “patient refund.”  The total amount paid to him was just about $10,000.  No correspondence was enclosed with the check.  My only thought was that perhaps this new dentist (who did know Dr. Drake) contacted him and advised him that he should give me something back as I had a good case for malpractice.  I concluded that this is what initiated Dr. Drake giving me such a small partial refund.   

Shortly thereafter, I sent a letter to Dr. Drake requesting that he refund the remaining monies ($7,400) I had paid him due to his failure to provide me with the dentures and implants for which he was paid.  In May of 2015, a man by the name of Micah Graham (whose telephone number is 904-316-0337) contacted Ms. Svatos, stating that he was an investigator for Dr. Drake’s malpractice insurance.  Mr. Graham failed to provide Ms. Svatos with any written documentation regarding his representation of Dr. Drake, but rather set out to try and stop her from attempting to obtain a full refund of monies paid. Micah Graham advised Ms. Svatos that he sent her two letters regarding her complaint and the insurance company’s determination.  To-date, these letters have never been received.  

Since then, I sent Dr. Drake one more letter, again, demanding a full refund of the remaining monies paid to him, he has failed to respond.