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LEOBEN, Austria: As reported online by Neues Volksblatt, an Austrian daily newspaper, last week, the parents of a 4-year-old girl who died after dental surgery two years ago were sentenced for negligence at an Austrian court.
According to the news report, doctors had had to remove the girl’s carious primary teeth under general anaesthetic because her parents had never taken her to the dentist. During the surgery, she suffered a lung spasm and died.
The prosecutor said that when the child was 2 years old her teeth were in such a dire condition already that a paediatrician had urged the mother twice to consult a dentist. Although the mother acknowledged that her child’s teeth were in poor condition, she explained that her daughter had not complained about dental pain. The defendant also mentioned that the child had consumed a great deal of sweet foods and beverages. In addition, a medical examiner observed that the girl’s tooth roots were completely rotten.
The mother was sentenced to five months’ and the father to seven months’ imprisonment, but the defendants still have the right to appeal the decision.
The lawsuit against the responsible doctors has been settled already.
