It is a sad reality that individuals in the state of Pennsylvania are injured while under the care of medical professionals on a regular basis. In the worst cases these injuries lead to the death of the patient. While there is nothing that can be done to bring the person who has died back to life, some find it beneficial to file a medical malpractice lawsuit against the medical provider responsible for the wrongful death.

Sadly the parents of a teenager found themselves facing that very reality. Their 17-year-old daughter died in 2011 after suffering severe brain injury in the course of a surgery she underwent to have her wisdom teeth removed. Something reported occurred during the course of the routine surgery that caused her brain to be deprived of oxygen.

Initially the oxygen deprivation resulted in the girl being in a coma. A week and a half after the surgery, she sadly died.

As a result of the incident, her parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit against several individuals and entities including the surgeon, the anesthesiologist and each of their medical practices. In it they alleged negligence in allowing their daughter's heart rate to drop, leading to the oxygen deprivation. Each of the five counts sought at least $30,000 in damages.

Recently this case settled prior to trial. Because the settlement is confidential, the amount the teen's parents received is unknown.

While many likely only think of medical malpractice lawsuits in the context of injuries that are inflicted in a hospital, as this case illustrates, injuries suffered at the hands of dentists fall into this same category.

Source: The Baltimore Sun, "Malpractice claim in teen's wisdom teeth death settled out of court," Kevin Rector, April 3, 2013