Tuesday, December 24, 2002 – Page A7

HALIFAX -- A New Brunswick family are suing an anesthetist, their dentist and the Georges L. Dumont Hospital after their two-year-old son was left with massive brain damage, unable to see, speak, eat or move, following routine dental surgery.

The suit, which alleges cover-up and criminal misconduct, was filed yesterday in Court of Queen's Bench of New Brunswick at Saint John. It names the anesthetist, Amr Mahmoud; the dentist, Anil Joshi; and the Moncton hospital.

Heidi and Jamie Paul, who live on the Big Cove Reserve and also have a four-month-old son, took Davey, now three, to hospital on Aug. 2 to have some cavities filled. During the procedure, the child slipped into a coma and did not awaken until after he had been taken by air ambulance to hospital in Halifax.

"It is by far the worst case I have ever seen," said John McKiggan, a Halifax lawyer representing the family. "Not just because of the extent of the injuries because they are catastrophic, but because of what happened afterward. It reads like a movie script. The allegations include very serious criminal misconduct.

"Even if Davey never receives a penny of compensation for his injuries, he is going to require significant medical care for the rest of his life, and that will cost millions."

After the incident, the Fort Beauséjour Regional Health Authority suspended Dr. Mahmoud with pay. Hospital officials did not return calls.

"Davey was a happy two-year-old boy," Ms. Paul said in a statement issued through Mr. McKiggan. "He liked to ride his bicycle and swim and play ball. He went in to have some cavities filled, and now he is blind and trapped in a wheelchair for the rest of his life."

The statement of claim alleges that Dr. Joshi dislodged the breathing tube while filling Davey's teeth, that Dr. Mahmoud failed to respond when the boy stopped breathing, and that at some time after the procedure, Dr. Mahmoud destroyed the anesthesia record and created a new one.

"There are serious allegations of negligence, but it is what happened after the procedure that is so shocking," Mr. McKiggan said.

The statement alleges that before Davey was placed under general anesthesia, monitors to continuously measure his heart rate, blood pressure and the amount of oxygen in his blood were attached to him, as well as an electrocardiograph.

The statement of claim reads that about 10 minutes after Dr. Joshi began filling the boy's cavities, his blood-oxygen level plummeted to 26 per cent from 94 per cent.

The monitor's alarm sounded but was ignored or turned off by Dr. Mahmoud, the statement says. Five minutes later, Davey's oxygen level was at zero. Five minutes after that, an intern noticed the boy was flat-lining, and notified Dr. Mahmoud, it says.

"Mahmoud refused to take any action to assist Davey, and advised the intern that no action was necessary," the documents state.

After Dr. Mahmoud twice refused to do anything, the intern ran from the room and called for help. The boy's heartbeat was revived, but he was comatose.

The claim alleges that after the procedure, the defendants told the boy's parents he was sleeping and that he might need more tests. They refused to explain what had happened. Davey was transferred to hospital in Halifax, where he regained consciousness.

"All the parents knew was their happy, healthy son went in to have his cavities filled and came out brain-damaged, blind and in a wheelchair," Mr. McKiggan said. "No one told them what happened.

"Why did no one do anything when the oxygen monitors showed he was dying?"

The family has also filed a complaint against Dr. Mahmoud with the New Brunswick College of Physicians and Surgeons.

"We received it, but we don't talk about it," registrar Ed Schollenberg said.

"After an investigation, the information goes to our complaints committee, and it makes a recommendation on how to proceed."