The Smile Center—San Antonio—Settles Malpractice Lawsuit Involving 253 Patients

As the San Antonio Express-News reported December 3, 2013, Dr. Stephen Simpton, owner and operator of  The Smile Center, with 6 clinics in the San Antonio, TX area settled the malpractice lawsuit involving 253 patients. Details still about the dollar amount of the settlement have not been released.

Shorty after the law suit was filed in 2011, Dr. Stephen Simpton filed a defamation lawsuit against the law firm representing the parents of the children, as well as the television station and reporter, Brian Collister. 

Protecting First Amendment rights in Texas, District Judge David Berchelmann’s ruling in July 2012, threw out the lawsuit against the attorney representing the parents, and ordered Simpton’s Smile Center to pay $108,000 in attorney fees and sanctions.  The following month Dr. Simpton was sanctioned for his attempt to silence WOAI-TV, and ordered to pay $70,000.

Simpton further tried to escape the spot light on his misdeeds, having his attorney, Mr. Jon Michael Smith, send “Cease and Desist” letters to anyone else who reported about the abuse taking place in his dental clinics, including Flap’s Dental Blog and this one.  This one actually received two, after the first one didn’t seem to phase me.

The Smile Center in San Antonio, Texas Under Investigation

WOAI TV

Published: 9/07 4:05 pm

Updated: 9/08 10:04 am


The Smile Center Investigation
Posted on 09/08/2011 by bcollister
A criminal investigation is underway into a chain of dental clinics here in San Antonio that targets children on Medicaid.  This comes after I uncovered complaints of poor treatment at The Smile Center.
The Texas Attorney General now confirms it has launched criminal and civil investigations into The Smile Center.
The Attorney General’s office wants to know if the clinics defrauded Medicaid by billing for dental work that did not need to be done.  I’ve been reporting since February about complaints from parents who say the clinics did unnecessary and shoddy work on their children.
These parents were unhappy with dental work done on their children and paid with millions of your tax dollars through Medicaid.
A representative from the Attorney General’s office confirms it’s Medicaid fraud control unit has 180 bankers boxes of records taken from The Smile Center locations here in San Antonio.  The agency’s civil Medicaid department has also filed a complaint in civil court against the business. But we don’t know what’s in that complaint because it’s sealed.

The Smile Center Family Dentistry - San Antonio, Texas

WOAI TV Report

Published: 2/21 1:31 pm

Updated: 2/23 4:39 pm

update – February 21, 2011

If you or your child suffered at the hands of Dr. Stephen Simpton and The Smile Center contact the Crosley Law firm for a free case review.
For more information on the case click here.

Initial Report - February 7, 2011

 

Investigative Report by WOAI's Brian Collister - BrianCollister@woaitv.com

February 14, 2011

The Smile Center, another dental mill left to run amok, with no one checking, no dental board oversight, and evidently no one giving a damn.  Why has no one questioned this dental mill?  Where are the social workers in this, are they not noticing an increased amount of children with their mouths crammed full of stainless steel crowns. 

The report says the dentist who did this no longer work there, ok, where the hell did they go.  Let's get some names so the public can be warned.  But no, that won't happen, and these, like the thousands of dentists employed by these Medicaid dental mills will just move down the road to the next mill and continue with the substandard treatment they have been trained, coerced and baited with bonuses to deliver.  

The Smile Center's statement, Stephen Simpton, DDS