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HARTFORD, Conn., USA: A 45-year-old dentist from Connecticut has been charged with a misdemeanor count of criminally negligent homicide and a felony count of tampering with evidence after the death of a 64-year-old patient. The woman had stopped breathing during an attempt to remove 20 teeth and was later pronounced dead in hospital.
According to a statement by the Enfield Police Department, Dr. Rashmi Patel turned himself in on Feb. 17 after a warrant for his arrest was issued. Exactly a year before, Patel's patient Judith Gan died at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Massachusetts, after undergoing an extensive dental procedure under conscious sedation.
As reported online by the Hartford Courant, Patel intended to remove 20 teeth and install several implants when the retired librarian developed complications. Patel seemingly ignored warnings from his dental assistants that Gan was in danger and continued with the procedures. According to the charging statement of the inspectors from the Connecticut Department of Public Health, the dentist failed to "properly respond to Gan's oxygen desaturation and/or respiratory distress and/or cardiopulmonary distress" while performing a full-mouth extraction. One assistant finally called 911, but the patient had already flatlined, the inspectors reported.
The State newspaper also reported online that the patient had an extensive medical history, including a heart attack six months before the visit, two strokes within the last two years and medication that could have affected her response to the sedation. Gan's death and other incidents prompted the Connecticut State Dental Commission in December 2014 to suspend Patel's license. While the commission's officials banned the dentist permanently from performing conscious sedation, they agreed to return the license under the condition that Patel would complete further training and placed him on five years of probation.
Patel has denied any wrongdoing in his treatment. "Dr. Patel disputes the charges and urges that the charges be dropped," his attorney Paul Knag said in a statement, according to the Hartford Courant's website.
This was not the first time that Patel, who has offices in Enfield and Torrington, has been the subject of a health department investigation. In December 2013, he violated care standards when another patient inhaled a piece of gauze under conscious sedation and had to be rushed to the hospital. Two years earlier, he faced charges for malpractice that were later settled out of court.
After posting $25,000 bail, Patel is currently out of prison and scheduled to appear before the Enfield Superior Court on March 5.
From http://www.dental-tribune.com
