Patients of beloved dentist seek reimbursements after his sudden death
Many people will pay big money for specialty dentistry in hopes of a better future. They want to eat out with family at a restaurant again or simply wake up free from sores and extreme pain. That's why the sudden death of a popular dentist is leaving many people feeling stuck.
No matter how many times he reads it, Mark Dzura can't believe it.
"It has in here about the Medgaus legacy, and we want to provide you the best care you deserve, okay, do it," said Dzura, a patient of Medgaus Dental Group.
Medgaus Dental Group, with offices in Monroeville and Castle Shannon, posted a letter on its website months after the unexpected passing of owner Dr. Carl Medgaus.
Dzura found out the morning of his much-anticipated appointment last week.
"It's a two-hour ride for us, round trip, and we thought he died the weekend before, and here we found out he died in January. They had seven weeks to let me know this wasn't going to happen," said Dzura.
He believes he's one of many customers who paid in full and are now left with nothing to show for it. His sister Denise wrote the dental group a $21,000 check for what's called Stabili-Teeth, a full mouth dental implant solution, just praying her brother could live and eat without pain.
"The teeth, and the pain, and the implants coming out, getting more implants, it's a lot of surgery," said Denise Dzura, who paid for her brother's implants.
KDKA Investigates started reaching out to Medgaus Dental Group in January to ask about plans for reimbursements and getting teeth to their rightful owners.
Medgaus Dental said via email, in part, "At this time, Medgaus Dental Group is in the process of closing, and the estate is responsible for addressing financial matters, including potential reimbursements."
It added that the legal steps take time, often taking closer to a year to complete.
In a later email, it added, "One of the first steps in the probate process is to determine if the deceased individual had any creditors and, if so, assess the priority of each. Thus, we published the legally required creditor notices immediately after we opened probate and have established an orderly process for recording the contact information of anyone who contacts us or Medgaus Dental to inquire about a claim. Some inquiries have come from patients of Medgaus Dental, and we are currently in the process of contacting each by phone to let them know where the estate can be found and of their ability to make a claim. We have found, in making these calls, that Dr. Medgaus was truly beloved by most of his patients."
Dzura agrees that everyone loved Dr. Medgaus, but that is why he is questioning the lack of a contingency plan and previously posted updates on the practice's website.
"I believe they're purposefully dancing around that verbiage. I don't think that they're planning on doing anything. I think that they're planning on leaving me and everybody else out in the dark," he said.
Local attorney Nora Peace tells KDKA that consumers can learn from this unfortunate situation.
"He had a very specialized practice where he was doing high-end dentistry and from all appearances was very competent at doing that and has been doing it for a long time," said Peace.
But she added Dr. Medgaus didn't appear to have written up a formal disability agreement with other practitioners, leaving no one to take over his patients. She believes that's why the website now says, "We have had no choice but to close the practice as of now."
Peace wants people to know to ask about this formal agreement or contingency plan.
"Right now in the current climate there is a push towards a lot of new dentists to go into corporate practices or they open up group practices where they'll have three, four, or five doctors working together which is helpful in a situation like this because there's probably somebody on site who can kind of step into the shoes and finish some of these cases," said Peace.
In the meantime, when it comes to trying to recoup any money after the death of a business owner, consumers need to wait for the estate to open.
KDKA Investigates learned Dr. Medgaus' estate opened in Westmoreland County, and any inquiries related to the estate, including claims, should be directed to the attorneys handling the estate:
Strassburger McKenna Gutnick & Gefsky
Attn: Michael I. Werner
444 Liberty Ave, Suite 2200
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
The dental practice added: "At this time, Medgaus Dental Group is in the process of closing, and the estate is responsible for addressing financial matters, including potential reimbursements. Unfortunately, due to the nature of probate, there are legal steps that must be followed before any resolutions can be made."
Patients like Dzura now worry about those who can't absorb this financial hit.
"I'm all about waiting for the estate. I don't have a problem with that. I'll pay to get it all done... as long as you reimburse me," said Dzura.
However, he said he doesn't believe he'll be reimbursed, saying, "Absolutely not."
"If you read the comments on the website right now, there's a lady who paid $22,000 for her son to get these Stabili-Teeth- what's she going to do? And a lot of people take loans out -- they offer financing -- just think of those people paying 20% interest and they are making payments on nothing," added his sister.
