Finley Boyle, a three year old Hawaiian girl, was left brain dead after root canal Friday night. After doctors announced that the child was in a vegetative state, the parents made the decision to pull feeding tubes. Finley died around 8:47 pm Friday.
According to The New York Daily News, Ashley and Evan Boyle, Finley’s mother and father, have filed a lawsuit against the dentist, Lily Geyer.
Ashley, the girl’s mother, said that the death of her child could have been prevented if the right precautions were taken. The parents were told that Finley had 10 cavities and was in need of four root canals. The child was given high doses of medication on December 3 in order to do the procedure.
The Huffington Post called the mixture of medications highly potent. Twenty six minutes after the child was put under, Finley went under cardiac arrest. According to Ashley and Evan, the girl did not receive immediate CPR by the team at Geyer’s office.
The suit against Geyer and her team claims that they were not prepared for an emergency of this nature. They also pointed out that staff ran down the hall to ask for help from a pediatrician.
The family’s attorney say that the incident could have been avoided if the medications had been administered properly and monitored the child’s vital signs properly. The shock, according to the family and their attorney, was the medications, the doses and the combination that was given to the small, young girl.
The family has began a fundraising page called Fundley for Finleyto help pay for Finley's medical care expenses.
“She will probably not be with us much longer," said Finley’s mother. "We were all hoping. Even the doctors are in tears. We were all just waiting for her to wake up."