A 17-year-old boy in Washington state went to the dentist to get his wisdom teeth removed, and died during the routine procedure.
Six months later, his parents are suing, reports The Seattle Times, alleging that Dr. Bryan McLelland — who has both a dentist's license and a general anesthesia permit — decided to "wear two hats" that day "in order to increase profits."
But acting as both anesthesiologist and surgeon at the same time proved to be fatal.
From The Seattle Times:
He had died from a common reaction to anesthesia, which was "entirely preventable," his mother said.
The Edge family filed a lawsuit Monday alleging local oral surgeon Dr. Bryan McLelland could have prevented Erik's reaction to anesthesia, but "failed to respond" in a timely manner.
The family's attorney, George Ahrend, said the reaction that Erik had to the anesthesia is so common that experts prepare for it — that "if every anesthesiologist lost the patient when this complication happened, every anesthesiologist would have a long trail of bodies behind them in their career," he said.
Ahrend added that it's rare for someone to complete a surgery while administering, monitoring and responding to complications of anesthesia at the same time.
The boy's mom, a nurse practitioner, says she never would have allowed her son to go in for the procedure had she known that the dentist and anesthesiologist was the same person. And she's now warning others on how to prevent the same tragic mistake.
"Find out if there's an expert, a well-qualified anesthesiologist or nurse anesthetist on staff. Ask if there's proper equipment in the room. Ask what kind of training the staff has. Do they practice for events like this?" she said, via Seattle Times.
"This is something that was foreseeable, preventable and treatable," the family's attorney said. "Erik should have walked out that day."
Previously: Dentist who pulled patient's tooth while on a hoverboard sentenced to 12 years in jail
