Abramson, Brown & Dugan Attorneys

A dental malpractice lawsuit has been filed by the parents of a teenage girl who died after a botched wisdom tooth removal surgery.  The lawsuit has been filed against the oral surgeon and the anesthesiologist. 

According to media reports, "The suit claims that Dr. Krista Michelle Isaacs, the anesthesiologist, and Dr. Domenick Coletti, the oral surgeon, were negligent in their care of Olenick and failed to resuscitate her after her heart rate slowed to a "panic level" of 40 beats per minute and her body began losing oxygen."

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for the State of Maryland investigated the death and found that "central cause of death was hypoxia — a deprivation of oxygen — that occurred while Olenick was anesthetized during the procedure. 

According to Dr. David Fowler, the state's chief medical examiner, Olenick was first given a standard dose of anesthesia during the procedure that did not "get her deep enough so she was fully anesthetized."

More anesthesia was then administered by Dr. Krista Michelle Isaacs, the anesthesiologist, which was also standard procedure, Fowler said in an interview.

At approximately 8:05 a.m., Olenick began to experience bradycardia, or a slowing of her heart rate, according to the lawsuit.

"A little while later, the oxygen saturation in her blood started dropping," Fowler said.

Shortly thereafter, according to the autopsy report, Olenick went into hypoxic arrest. Emergency responders were called and advanced cardiovascular life support protocol was initiated by Isaacs, according to an expert witness assessment attached to the lawsuit.