The owner of Must Love Kids Pediatric Dentistry in Vancouver, WA, has been fined $5,000 in connection with the death of a 4-year-old patient, according to the Washington State Department of Health.
The Clark County Medical Examiner's Office ruled in June 2018 that Mykel Wayne Peterson died of multiple drug intoxication from anesthesia he received for dental treatment in March 2017.
In February 2018, the state's Dental Quality Assurance Commission charged Prashant Gagneja, BDS, MDS, and his wife, Monisha Gagneja, BDS, who own and operate the dentist practice, with unprofessional conduct. The commission has now fined Dr. Prashant Gagneja for not having a written contract for providing anesthesia services as state rules require with Northwest Mobile Anesthesia Group, which had a contractor administer the anesthesia to Mykel before he died. Dr. Gagneja is also required to reimburse the commission for $3,500 in costs, submit a revised dentist and anesthesia provider contract, pass a jurisprudence exam, and complete continuing education in recordkeeping, according to the health department.
Chester Hu, MD, was the independent contractor for Northwest who administered the anesthesia. In January 2018, the Washington Medical Commission charged Dr. Hu with unprofessional conduct. The charges included that Dr. Hu allegedly didn't make use of appropriate monitoring equipment, didn't assign an appropriately trained and credentialed person to continuously monitor the patient, and his failure to meet the standard of care put the patient at grievous risk of harm and contributed to his death.
Dr. Hu also was fined $5,000 in connection with the patient death, and he reportedly has not worked for Northwest Mobile or Must Love Kids since March 2017, according to a news story by the Columbian.
