An Indian-origin dentist, who attempted to extract 20 teeth from the mouth of a 64-year-old woman in one sitting which led to her death, has been charged in the US with negligent homicide a year after the incident.
Rashmi Patel, 45, turned himself in on Tuesday night after a warrant for his arrest was issued, Enfield town's police chief Carl Sferrazza said.
He was charged with a misdemeanour count of criminally negligent homicide and a felony count of tampering with evidence, police said.
Patel, who lives in Suffield, Connecticut, posted USD 25,000 bail and is scheduled to appear at Superior Court in Enfield on February 24, the Hartford Courant daily reported.
Enfield detectives got involved in the case shortly after the death of Judith Gan of Ellington, at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield on February 17, 2014 - exactly a year before Patel's arrest.
"We were investigating it all along," Sferrazza said. The warrant for Patel's arrest is sealed, the chief said.
According to a four-count statement of administrative charges filed against Patel, with Gan in his office that day, the dentist failed to "properly respond to patient's oxygen desaturation and/or respiratory distress and/or cardiopulmonary distress" while performing a full-mouth extraction.
Records indicate that Patel intended to do 20 tooth extractions.
Patel ignored the patient's deteriorating condition and did not respond when changes in her oxygen levels and vital signs were reported to him by the dental assistants, state Department of Public Health inspectors said in the charging statement.
One assistant begged Patel to stop the procedure, the report said.
In response to the criminal charges, Patel's attorney, Paul Knag, released a statement, saying, "After several months of deliberation, the state Dental Commission found that Dr Patel's actions did not warrant the revocation of his license."
"In the Dental Commission proceeding, multiple expert witnesses testified that Dr Patel followed the standard of care. The state's seeking of criminal charges is contrary to this evidence and inconsistent with the decision of the Commission not to revoke his license. Dr Patel disputes the charges and urges that the charges be dropped," it said.
Patel's license was suspended on April 21. On December 17, the dentist was told that he may never again treat a patient under sedation. He also must submit to five years of random monitoring.
