Background: Liberty Oral and Facial Surgery in Spokane, Wash. (Google Maps). Inset: Sara and Erik Edge (provided by the Edge family).
The family of a Washington state teenager who died during a routine wisdom tooth extraction has filed a lawsuit against the oral surgeon who performed the procedure and the clinic where it occurred.
Mark and Sara Edge, the parents of 17-year-old Erik Edge, sued Dr. Mark McLelland on Dec. 9, six months after their son had a reaction to the general anesthesia he was administered that resulted in his airway being blocked. McLelland was allegedly acting as both surgeon and anesthesiologist and “failed to notice and properly respond,” according to the Edge family attorneys. The Edge family is claiming medical malpractice and negligence.
The Luvera Law Firm, which is representing the Edge family, said in a press release posted to its website that on June 24, the day of Erik’s procedure, the teenager’s “airway closed after anesthesia started, which is a common side effect of the type of anesthesia used. In most cases, an anesthesiologist is closely monitoring the patient’s vitals and can detect immediately that the airway has closed, then respond appropriately to keep the patient’s airway open and clear.”
But according to the lawsuit, McLelland was allegedly acting as both the surgeon and anesthesiologist as a way to “maximize profitability,” the attorneys claimed. The lawsuit alleged that the intent was “to bill and collect greater fees for performing both services.”
As a result, attorneys said that McLelland did not notice that Erik’s airway was closed “for several minutes.” The attorneys claimed that McLelland’s choice to “wear two hats” resulted in the surgeon and the clinic’s staff being “[un]prepared to provide lifesaving care and did not respond properly.”
That choice, the family says, cost Erik his life.
The Spokesman-Review, a local Spokane newspaper, reported that McLelland was licensed to practice dentistry and carried a general anesthesia permit that had been updated in the past year.
Sara Edge said in a statement on her attorney’s site, “As a parent, you trust that a medical professional can safely perform a routine procedure like wisdom tooth removal, and to find out that Dr. McLelland was instead multi-tasking for profit just adds to our heartbreak. Our son lost his life in a completely preventable tragedy, and our family will never be the same.”
McLelland is being represented by attorney Steve Lamberson who told The Spokesman-Review in a statement that his client “and his staff have been deeply impacted but he followed safety protocols and met the standard of care.” He added that he and his client are prepared to respond to the lawsuit.
