David Hurst: ‘Hero’ dentist puzzled by claims from widow about unauthorised urgent care to patients

A prosthodontist who came to rescue of scores of patients needing urgent care in the wake of the sudden death of Perth dentist David Hurst is considering legal action to recover $465,000 he says he is owed. Dr Michael Zaninovich’s practice Aria Dental is a significant creditor in the liquidation of Dr Hurst’s company, which traded as Perth Dental Rooms. Dr Zaninovich said he provided treatment to stabilise about 60 patients who were in acute pain following botched procedures. In late February, it was discovered the company was insolvent with $2.3 million of patients pre-payments for expensive dental implants discovered missing — meaning there were no funds to finish their treatment and, in some cases, start it. All up, more than 130 patients were impacted. When the financial mess was uncovered an administrator was appointed. The company, Hurst Group Pty Ltd, is now being wound up. Many of the patients have no hope of getting their money back, but those that can show negligence in Dr Hurst’s treatment can claim against his professional indemnity insurance. To do that, they first have to make legal claims against Dr Hurst’s deceased estate, which entered bankruptcy on Tuesday. His widow, Clara Hurst, petitioned for the bankruptcy last month. As executor of the deceased estate she had previously indicated it had no money. How the busy dental practice and its seemingly affluent owner ended up broke remains a mystery. Dr Hurst died suddenly on December 10 whilst staying at Burswood Resort. The death is not being treated by police as suspicious. Dr Zaninovich was advised to cease all work on Dr Hurst’s patients in February by then-administrator Bryan Hughes, when it was discovered Hurst Group Pty Ltd had no money to pay it. “Perth Dental Room had engaged us to just stabilise the patients, get everyone out of pain, fix up the broken teeth,” Dr Zaninovich said. “We didn’t chase (payment earlier), I guess, because (Clara Hurst) just lost a husband. “We thought we’ll just leave it, give them some time.” Dr Zaninovich claimed he had yet to receive any thanks for the work he had done. Like the patients, Aria Dental is now an unsecured creditor in the liquidation. The Perth Dental Rooms business in Raine Square has been sold, but there remains insufficient funds to reimburse the patients, most of whom had drawn on superannuation funds to pay for implants, which cost up to $70,000 each. Dr Hurst had been been pushy about getting paid in advance. As revealed by The Sunday Times two months ago, $7.1 million had been taken out the company by Dr Hurst. Mr Hughes, now the liquidator, found $4.1m was drawn by Dr Hurst in the 18 months before he died. “The director appears to have withdrawn significant funds from the company in excess of profits earned,” he reported. “The funds were withdrawn from the company’s trading account, which contained money provided by patients in the form of prepayments for dental work, which had not been commenced or only partially completed.” This newspaper also revealed Dr Hurst had been allowed to practice in Australia despite a criminal conviction in his native Wales. He stole £15,584 (more than $32,000) from the UK’s National Health Service by forging patient declarations while working as a dentist in Bridgend, near Cardiff, in 2006 and 2007. In 2012, he pleaded guilty to 69 counts of theft at Cardiff Crown Court, where he was sentenced to 10 months imprisonment, suspended for two years, and given a 200-hour community work order. David and Clara Hurst met while studying to be dentists at university in London. They married in Spain in 2008. They spent some months in Australia in 2009, eventually settling here in 2013. Clara Hurst was a director of Hurst Group Pty Ltd from July 2016 until March 2021, when she resigned. She separated from her husband in 2020 but they later got back together. She didn’t rejoin the company, instead concentrating on her own businesses. Dr Clara Hurst is the owner of luxury Cottesloe cosmetic salon Blanc and co-owner of The Secret Skincare. Clara Hurst, who is currently holidaying in Europe with her two children, issued a statement before leaving expressing “great sympathy for the patients who have been left untreated following my husband’s death.” “I hope the professionals in charge of winding up his business can continue to diligently work to recover value for them,” she said. “In my capacity as executor of the estate I have received numerous potential claims in relation to my late husband’s dental practice. I can confirm that I have diligently acted as the executor in informing all relevant parties of any potential claim against the estate of my late husband.” She said she had been surprised to discover her husband’s business was insolvent. “Despite my own grief, I tried to assist in a time of crisis to help my deceased husband’s apparently thriving dental business to continue to operate, guided by professional advisors,” she said. “Both these advisors and I were surprised to eventually discover the business was insolvent. As soon as this became apparent, the business had to be placed under the control of a registered insolvency professional.” The Hursts bought a $6.5 million Spanish-style mansion in Claremont in December 2023. The property is currently undergoing renovations. The property is now in her name after she made a survivorship application to Landgate in January. In her previous statement Clara Hurst stressed she was “an independent businesswoman in my own right.” “My businesses and finances and those of my late husband have been separate for several years,” she added. Law firm Slater and Gordon is preparing a legal case on behalf of about 20 patients. “We’re looking at people who are in daily physical pain, with their temporary (teeth) broken and all sorts of complications that remain untreated. It’s really concerning, not to mention the fact that they’ve depleted their retirement savings and still don’t have the treatment that they paid for. “The estate has appointed another law firm to triage the claims or pass the claims while Clara Hurst is away. We’ve received an acknowledgement.” Ms Marshman said she understood why many patients were angry at the regulator, Ahpra, for registering David Hurst as a dentist in Australia when he had a criminal record for fraud in UK, where he was subsequently banned from practicing. “I think it’s a real shame that, given someone’s history, especially involving fraud against the public health system,” she said. “That should have raised red flags ... unfortunately, what we’re seeing now is the consequences of some sort of system error that they either didn’t pick up or didn’t act on ... but the impact on our clients has been absolutely devastating.” Former patient Bruce Hamersley got some bad news this week. “I am devastated to have been advised this week that the permanent teeth supplied and fitted by David Hurst at Perth Dental Rooms that are in my mouth, are not the Zirconia Ceramic implants I paid $70,000 for,” he said. “Instead, they are plastic and not of the required Australian Standards. I now live in fear and torment that the next bite of food I take will damage them even further. But no one cares. The authorities simply dismiss my complaints.”