US Woman Suffers Brain Damage After Doctor Overdoses Her On Fentanyl

A woman in the United States has been left with severe brain damage after a terminally ill anesthesiologist gave her a "huge dose" of fentanyl during a dental surgery in Texas, a lawsuit has alleged. According to the New York Post, the woman, Maria Lugo Querales, narrowly escaped death from the 2022 incident and now lives in an assisted living facility in Florida where she requires a feeding tube. Her husband, Luis Espana, filed a civil medical malpractice complaint against the dental practice Nunnally, Freeman and Owens. He is also suing the doctors involved in the surgery on allegations of negligence. 

According to the Post, Ms Querales had travelled to the dental practice to undergo a procedure on "alleged 'cavitations' and the extraction of an asymptomatic root canal-treated tooth". There, in preparation for the surgery, the anesthesiologist, Dr Jerry Teague, administered 400 micrograms of fentanyl to Ms Querales without intubating her first. Along with the powerful narcotic, Dr Teague also administered the sedative midazolam and the anaesthetic lidocaine. 

In a GoFundMe page, Mr Espana said that after his wife was administered fentanyl, her "vital signs began to drop, and she suddenly went into respiratory arrest, which led her to suffer brain damage, and thus a coma". 

The outlet reported that the night before the surgery, Dr Teague's wife reported him missing after he went on an evening walk and never returned. His wife told the cops that her husband was suffering "cognitive issues" because he was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was told that he had less than a year to live. Dr Teague returned home just 45 minutes after being reported missing. He told his wife and the police that he had become dehydrated and disoriented and refused medical attention. 

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At work, Dr Teague didn't tell his coworkers about how he went missing the night before. He went on to administer an "excessive" amount of fentanyl to Ms Querales. 

In the lawsuit, Mr Espana also alleged that Dr Teague did not properly intubate his wife, leading to breathing problems that required dentists to call off the surgery and call paramedics to rush her to the hospital. 

Dr Teague succumbed to cancer just two weeks after the incident. He was 70 years old, the Post reported. 

Mr Espana has now accused the three doctors of "offering, planning and performing unnecessary dental surgery" and causing his wife to be sedated "for no valid reason". However, the doctors have denied these claims. The dentists reportedly argued in a response filing that potential risks were discussed with Ms Querales 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 anaesthesia". 

What happened to the patient was an "unavoidable accident in that it was not proximately caused by the culpable negligence of any party to this action," the doctors said. The clinic also sought to distance itself from Dr Teague, describing him as an "independent contractor", although the lawsuit notes that he was listed as the practice's staff anesthesiologist.

Notably, Mr Espana is seeking unspecified damages from the dental practice and the doctors. He reached a confidential settlement with Dr Teague's estate last month.