Texas dentist charged after 4-year-old patient left brain damaged

On Monday, a Texas dentist was indicted for causing brain damage to a 4-year-old child.

Jul 26, 2017

On Monday, a Texas dentist was indicted for causing brain damage to a 4-year-old child.

Dr. Bethaniel Jefferson was indicted for intentionally and knowingly by omission causing serious bodily injury to a child by failing to seek and provide adequate medical attention and was suspended from practice by the Texas Board of Dental Examiners, with a judge issuing a warrant for her arrest on Tuesday.

In January 2016, Courissa Clark brought her daughter, Nevaeh Hall, to Diamond Dental in Houston to get a tooth pulled. However, the girl was given too many sedatives and other drugs. As a result, her oxygen levels dropped, and she had a seizure.

Rather than call 911, Jefferson placed the girl in a recovery room for hours. Because of that, Clark claimed, her daughter is now no longer able to walk, talk, or see.

“To have a normal kid one day and then that’s taken away all of a sudden, it’s hard,” Clark told Click 2 Houston “Her life was definitely taken away from her.”

The family believes that Jefferson’s indictment should serve as a warning to physicians everywhere.

“It’s going to tell them, ‘You are going to be held accountable if you kill or maim our children,’” said Jim Moriarty, who represented the family in a civil lawsuit.