When Nevaeh Hall was 4 years old, she was sedated so she could get a baby root canal and a crown placed on one of her teeth, according to her family’s attorney.
Once the sedatives had taken effect, she was restrained with a “papoose board” and the Texas dentist began drilling to remove tooth decay. But Nevaeh started screaming — then convulsing, according to a lawsuit filed on behalf of her family in 2017. It is believed she was having a seizure.
A Houston attorney alleged that the now-former dentist Bethaniel Jefferson was negligent when treating the young child in January 2016. Nevaeh suffered brain damage because of it.
“Nevaeh Hall, now 10, is conscious, but can no longer see, speak, walk or eat on her own, her family testified in the trial,” according to a Sept. 22 news release from lawyer James Moriarty. “She requires 24-hour medical care.”
After a three-day jury trial, her parents, Courissa Clark and Derrick Hall, were awarded $95.5 million in damages, according to court records.