A new civil complaint against a Texas dental practice was filed Thursday by attorneys representing the husband of a Florida woman who was left with brain damage after being given too much fentanyl while under anesthesia.
Luis España made claims against a dental practice in Marble Falls, where his wife, María Elena Lugo Querales, underwent a botched procedure in 2022 that left her incapacitated. The court filing targets the office of Nunnally, Freeman & Owens and Drs. Lane Freeman and Stuart Nunnally, the medical professionals involved in the surgery.
The complaint alleges that there was “no evidence on accepted sound, reliable, and valid scientific medical knowledge or research that the surgery [performed on Lugo] was necessary,” according to the San Antonio Express-News. Freeman and Nunnally were accused of committing “medical negligence by offering, planning, and performing unnecessary dental surgery on Maria Lugo, including negligently causing her to undergo deep sedation or general anesthesia … for no valid reason.”
In 2021, Lugo, who lived in Miami at the time, solicited the services of Nunnally, Freeman & Owens after watching a video posted by a social media influencer named Dr. Ludwig Johnson, a fellow Venezuelan, which featured Freeman and Nunnally. In the video, they suggested that toxic “cavitations” left in the mouth by teeth extractions were linked to auto-immune disease and cardiovascular issues.
The American Dental Association, the American Association of Endodontists, and the American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research have challenged such medical claims.
Nevertheless, becoming convinced that these cavitations could explain her health issues, Lugo agreed to a $10,306 treatment plan outlined by the Texas dentists based on a patient questionnaire and a 3D image of her mouth. She traveled to Texas, where Freeman claimed in a court filing to have thoroughly examined her and taken note of tooth extractions that “did not appear to have fully healed,” according to the San Antonio Express-News.
Ultimately, Lugo’s surgical procedure, scheduled for May 10, 2022, never took place. To put her under, Dr. Jerry Teague, the anesthesiologist, administered 400 micrograms of fentanyl — which the lawsuit claims was “excessive” — and Lugo went into respiratory arrest. The surgery was called off, and she was taken to a hospital, where she was found to have suffered severe brain damage.
Lugo has been in a comatose state ever since, surviving through a feeding tube at a care facility in Miami.
Teague had been hired by the dental practice in 2019 despite having had his medical license suspended for three years in 2016 after allegedly being caught stealing medication and testing positive for fentanyl. The night before Lugo’s surgery, he reportedly had a cognitive episode and went missing for several hours. Teague had been recently diagnosed with cancer, which he died of two weeks after the incident involving Lugo.
The Teague estate reached a confidential settlement with España last month.