Maria Lugo Querales dental patient left brain-damaged after anesthesiologist Dr. Jerry Teague overdosed her on fentanyl in unnecessary surgery according to lawsuit filed by woman’s husband, Luis Espana.
How much fentanyl is too much….? The husband of a Miami woman has filed a lawsuit after his wife was left severely brain damaged during a recent dental visit which saw her given a ‘huge dose’ of fentanyl during what the suit describes as ‘unnecessary’ dental surgery.
Maria Lugo Querales narrowly escaped death on May 10, 2022, when her heart stopped beating after Dr. Jerry Teague allegedly administered excessive amounts of anesthesia drugs without intubating her first, according to the civil medical malpractice complaint filed by the patient’s husband, Luis Espana.
Lugo had traveled to the dental practice Nunnally, Freeman and Owens, in Marble Falls, Texas, to undergo a procedure on ‘alleged ‘cavitations’ and the extraction of an asymptomatic root canal-treated tooth,’ the lawsuit alleges.
Botched fentanyl dosing
In preparation for the surgery, Lugo was treated with about 400 grams of fentanyl — a powerful synthetic narcotic used for severe pain — along with the sedative midazolam and the anesthetic lidocaine, according to a police report previously cited by San Antonio Express-News.
Dr. Robert Ertner, an anesthesiologist from California who is not involved in Lugo’s case, stated that ‘400 micrograms of fentanyl is a huge dose for somebody who is having a tooth extracted.’
Teague, who worked as an anesthesiologist at the Marble Falls clinic, administered the drugs to Lugo a day after he was reported missing by his wife, after failing to return from an evening stroll.
Teague’s wife told the police that her husband was suffering ‘cognitive issues’ following a recent diagnosis with pancreatic cancer and being told that he had less than a year to live, according to Espana’s lawsuit.
Teague returned home just 45 minutes after being reported missing, telling his wife and the cops that he had become dehydrated and disoriented.
Anesthesiologist with their own struggles
The medic who may or may not have had drug dependency issues (more on that below) refused to go to a hospital.
The following morning, Teague’s wife drove him to work at the clinic because she did not want to risk a repeat of the events from the day before, according to the court filing.
Lugo, who was Teague’s only patient that day, did not know about Teague’s misadventure. The suit further alleges that neither Teague nor the Marble Falls dentists obtained an informed consent for the anesthesia.
Teague failed to intubate Lugo, who overdosed on the anesthesia drugs ‘without airway protection,’ the court filings said.
The scheduled dental surgery was canceled as Querales was rushed to St. David’s Medical Center in Austin.
Just two weeks after the botched dental appointment, Teague succumbed to cancer.
He was 70 years old.
Botched consultation, botched procedure, cash grab for unnecessary surgery?
Querales currently lives in a neurological rehabilitation facility in Florida, where she receives 24-hour care.
She breathes through a tracheotomy and is fed through a tube.
Espana is suing the dental office and dentists Dr. Lane Freeman and Dr. Stuart Nunnally for negligence, accusing them of ‘offering, planning and performing unnecessary dental surgery’ and causing Querales to be sedated ‘for no valid reason’ — claims the doctors have denied.
According to the complaint, Querales had decided to seek treatment at the Texas clinic after hearing about it through Dr. Ludwig Johnson, an Instagram influencer with 1.9 million followers who featured Freeman and Nunnally in a YouTube video that talked about the purported risks associated with root canals.
‘They told the audience that ‘cavitations’ are wounds in the mouth where teeth have been pulled, such as wisdom teeth, where toxicity can rival that of a gangrenous wound,’ according to Espana’s recent court filing.
Espana claimed in an affidavit that after watching the three doctors, his wife became convinced that ‘her lack of energy, depression, heart issues, rheumatoid arthritis, and thyroid issues were likely caused by her root canal-treated tooth and the spaces below her pulled teeth, which they called cavitations.’
If a patient can’t trust their doctors who can they trust?
“These doctors convinced her that she had dental issues that were creating auto-immune issues leading to these health challenges,’ Espana argued, saying that it drove her decision to undergo the elective treatment.
But he maintained that there was ‘no evidence on accepted sound, reliable and valid scientific medical knowledge or research that the surgery was necessary.’
The dentists argued in a response filing that potential risks were discussed with Lugo before she ‘consented to the recommended care.’
They also claimed that her injuries were the result of a ‘preexisting medical condition’ and ‘a failed attempted general anesthesia.’
What happened to the patient, according to the defendants, was an ‘unavoidable accident in that it was not proximately caused by the culpable negligence of any party to this action.’
The practice also sought to distance itself from Teague, describing him as a ‘independent contractor’ — although Espana’s lawsuit noted that he was listed as the practice’s staff anesthesiologist.
Questions have been raised about Teague’s professional history, which included lawsuits and a suspension in 2016, when the former dentist was barred from practicing medicine by the State Board of Dental Examiners for three years after his hair follicle tested positive for fentanyl and midazolam.
