The family of an 82-year-old woman is suing a Dallas dentist. He had been disciplined by the state following the woman’s death.
The lawsuit notes that the dentist shouldn’t have carried out the oral surgery on the 82-year-old woman.
Jacqueline Kinloch said that her mother, Fredericka Bailey, was full of life at 82. Because she desired better teeth, she opted to have a full dental implant, not a removable denture. The 82-year-old had previously stated that she had difficulty eating with a partial. Thus, she simply wanted to make her quality of life better.
After a friend provided a reference, Bailey had traveled to Dallas from Sugarland to have the surgery performed by Dr. Andrew Kelsey.
Bailey’s daughter reported that she was unaware that Kelsey had been reprimanded by the state three years ago. This was for failing to adequately evaluate a patient and get medical clearance from the patient’s primary physician. It was also noted that Kelsey didn’t stop that procedure after witnessing the anesthesiologist being unable to control the patient’s heart rate.
Kinloch says that she thinks that her mother could have lived many more years.
However, the lawsuit states that Bailey had sickle cell, a blood cell disorder, and end stage renal failure.
She had been on dialysis four times per week.
The suit states that the defendants were aware of her medical history. However, they still proceeded with the operation without consulting Bailey’s nephrologist or hematologist.
An expert highlighted the many factors that led to Bailey’s death. This includes “failing to identify the right candidate for IV anesthesia, for traveling surgery, for extensive chair time and post operative down time.”
The suit states that Dr. Kelsey didn’t get medical clearance from Bailey’s specialists prior to performing the $40,000 procedure.
Just days following the surgery, Bailey passed away. It was determined that she suffered a pulmonary embolism because of the long trip that she took back home.
The Texas State Board of Dental Examiners found that Dr. Kelsey didn’t consider the time the surgery would take nor the time it would take for Bailey to travel back home. Additionally, he also failed to schedule a hospital setting when considering Bailey’s age and medical condition.
