Mother to sue VCU Dental Clinic for child's death

A mother whose 6-year-old boy died while under sedation at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Dental Faculty Practice in Richmond last year will file a lawsuit against the school this week, according to a story by WTVR CBS 6 News.

Crystal Lewis hired an attorney soon after the boy's death on May 11, 2010, and told news station that the preparation of the lawsuit is now completed.

Jacobi Hill was anesthetized on May 11, 2010, to have crowns put on several of his teeth. Shortly after the procedure was completed and the breathing tube was removed, Jacobi went into cardiac arrest and died. The state medical examiner's office determined that he died of an irregular heartbeat caused by removal of the breathing tube, which was deemed "natural."

However, Lewis said that Jacobi had been taken to a pediatrician the day before and was cleared for the procedure, the article stated. The boy had asthma but no other known medical causes. Lewis believes that if Jacobi had a clean bill of health, he should have been able to be resuscitated, WTVR reported.