A Miami lady is left with brain damage and needs “around-the-clock care” after a terminally sick anesthesiologist in Texas gave her a “huge dose” of fentanyl during what her husband’s complaint calls “unnecessary” dental surgery.
On May 10, 2022, Maria Lugo Querales had dental surgery. According to a civil medical malpractice case filed by the alleged victim’s husband, Luis Espana, before the treatment, her heart stopped beating and she was unable to breathe because Dr. Jerry Teague allegedly gave her too many anesthesia pills without first intubating her.
The Florida resident reportedly went to a dental practice in Marble Falls, Texas, for a procedure on “alleged ‘cavitations'” and the extraction of an asymptomatic root canal-treated tooth, according to the lawsuit acquired by the New York Post.
According to a police report acquired by the San Antonio Express-News, Lugo was administered around 400 grams of fentanyl, the sedative midazolam, and the anesthetic lidocaine.
Robert Ertner, a California-based anesthesiologist with no involvement in Lugo’s case, told the Express-News in April 2023 that “400 micrograms of fentanyl is a huge dose for somebody who is having a tooth extracted.”
Teague worked as an anesthesiologist at the Marble Falls clinic and had previously been suspended for taking medicines from a supply he stored for his patients at another dentist practice. His suspension was lifted in 2019, and he started working at the Texas clinic.
Teague allegedly provided the medications to Lugo just one day after he was reported missing by his wife for failing to return home following an evening stroll.
According to Espana’s lawsuit, Teague’s wife informed authorities that he was suffering from “cognitive issues” after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and given a prognosis of less than one year.
Teagues died of cancer only two weeks after Lugo suffered life-threatening injuries.
Espana is now suing the dental clinic and dentists Lane Freeman and Stuart Nunnally for negligence, saying they were “offering, planning, and performing unnecessary dental surgery” and sedated his wife “for no valid reason.”
The doctors denied any wrongdoing.
According to The Post, Espana is seeking undisclosed damages from the dental office and its doctors following a confidential arrangement with Teague’s estate last month.
Lugo is currently housed in a neurological rehabilitation facility in Florida, where she receives 24-hour care. She must breathe through a tracheotomy and is fed through a tube.