“After Sharlon Stemmons began to suffer complications during the October 25, 2019, in-office procedure at Defendant Guaranteed Dental, upon information and belief Defendant Richmond and Defendant Pourshirazi delayed in calling 911 because they did not want to draw attention to the fact that they were administering in-office sedation without proper license and outside of their legal scope of practice and hoped that they could successfully care for Mrs. Stemmons without having to involve outside EMS or other providers.”
The Arizona dental malpractice wrongful death lawsuit alleges the following facts: “In 2019, Sharlon Stemmons agreed to undergo a dental procedure administered by Defendant Pourshirazi at Defendant Guaranteed Dental. Prior to October 25, 2019, Defendant Guaranteed Dental and Defendant Pourshirazi hired Defendant Lifeguard to provide the general anesthesia for Sharlon Stemmons’ procedure … In her communications with Defendant Guaranteed Dental and Defendant Pourshirazi, Mrs. Stemmons had let them know of her health history and conditions and that she had had trouble with sedation during a dental procedure before.”
“Defendant Lifeguard sent its employee Defendant Richmond, a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist, to administer the anesthesia to Mrs. Stemmons on October 25, 2019. On October 25, 2019, Defendant Richmond took Mrs. Stemmons’ pre-op vitals and then administered 120 mg of Propofol to Mrs. Stemmons to sedate her for the procedure. Upon information and belief, Defendant Pourshirazi left the procedure room while Mrs. Stemmons was being placed under sedation and was absent from the room for an unknown period of time. Upon information and belief, after sedation was initiated, Dr. Pourshirazi returned to the room and administered 6-9 carpules of Marcaine with epinephrine to Mrs. Stemmons’ upper and lower mouth. Shortly thereafter, Mrs. Stemmons stopped breathing. At some point after she stopped breathing, CPR was administered. Defendant Guaranteed Dental staff, Defendant Richmond, or Defendant Pourshirazi eventually called 911 but not until long after complications began with Mrs. Stemmons. Phoenix Fire Department EMS arrived and tried to resuscitate Mrs. Stemmons. Phoenix Fire EMS subsequently transported Mrs. Stemmons to Chandler Regional Medical Center, where it was later determined she developed a severe anoxic brain injury due to the prolonged CPR and acute respiratory failure with hypoxemia. Mrs. Stemmons never regained consciousness.”
“On or about November 6, 2019, Mrs. Stemmons died at Chandler Regional Medical Center as a result of her injuries suffered during the procedure on October 25, 2019.”
Rushing v. Lifeguard Anesthesia, LLC, d/b/a Lifeguard Anesthesia, Superior Court of the State of Arizona, Maricopa County, No. CV2021-016541.
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