Listen to this article
Estimated 4 minutes
The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.
The family of a young woman who died after receiving a local anesthetic during a wisdom teeth extraction procedure is suing the dentist, his practice and the corporation that owns and operates the dental centre.
Virginia Blatz’s estate says in a statement of claim filed in Manitoba’s Court of King’s Bench on Sept. 29 that the care Dr. Ronald Janz provided was “administered negligently, causing or materially contributing to Virginia’s death.”
The claim was filed by Dulaney Blatz, Virginia’s father, who is acting as administrator of Virginia’s estate. All together, the family — which includes Virginia’s parents, siblings and grandparents — is claiming $130,000 in damages, plus burial costs, funeral expenses, legal costs and other damages.
Blatz, 23, arrived at the Boundary Trails Dental Centre in Morden on the morning of Nov. 27, 2024. She was administered an opioid and a sedative in preparation for the procedure, the document states.
About five minutes later, Janz administered Articaine — a medicine used commonly by dentists to numb a patient’s mouth — by local anesthetic, the lawsuit claims.
According to the claim, Blatz experienced two brief episodes of seizure activity about four minutes later and then stopped breathing. An ambulance was called, and Blatz was taken to the local hospital, where she was pronounced dead, the lawsuit says.
Blatz’s estate claims Virginia died from local anesthetic systemic toxicity — when levels of the pain-blocking medication become too high in a person’s blood — resulting from the injected local anesthesia.
Blatz’s estate says in a lawsuit that she died from local anesthetic systemic toxicity. (Submitted by Dulaney and Victoria Blatz)
In the claim, Blatz’s estate accuses Janz of injecting the needle directly into a blood vessel instead of the target tissue.
The lawsuit also says Janz used a dosage of Articaine beyond the acceptable amount, failed to pull the syringe’s plunger back to check for blood and failed to reposition the needle to ensure the Articaine went strictly into the soft tissue.
According to the claim, Janz also failed to inform himself of the interactions and lethality of the drugs, failed to use vigilance in determining early neurological signs of toxicity and failed to institute emergency preparedness.
The lawsuit also says Janz failed to have a dental anesthesiologist administer and monitor Blatz, and offered wisdom tooth extraction without the care and supervision of an anesthesiologist.
The claim says Janz delayed calling emergency medical services and administering oxygen, and that he failed to inform and properly discuss the risks posed by combining the medications with Blatz ahead of the procedure.
None of these allegations have been tested in court, and a statement of defence has yet to be filed. CBC News has reached out to Janz for comment.
Janz is currently restricted in his ability to administer local anesthetic, the Manitoba Dental Association’s registry shows.
Blatz’s estate is also suing the dental corporation for negligence that caused or materially contributed to her death.
The claim says negligence from the dental corporation included a failure to adequately educate staff members about the dangers of local anesthetic systemic toxicity and to provide on-site antidote therapy to treat it. It also claims the corporation failed to instruct staff, including Janz, to inform Blatz of the risks associated with combining the medications.
The lawsuit also says the corporation failed to implement quality control measures to ensure proper dosages of Articaine for each patient, failed to have protocols in place for emergency preparedness, did not have oxygen readily available and offered wisdom tooth extraction without the care and supervision of an anesthesiologist.
These allegations have yet to be tested in court, and CBC News has reached out to the corporation for comment.