Austin toddler dies as a part of Medicaid racket, lawsuit alleges

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The family of the 14-month-old girl who died after a visit to the dentist has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Austin Children’s Dentistry.

Her parents are suing the practice, the dentist, the anesthesiologist and the company he works for, Texas Anesthesiology Association. The cause of death of Daisy Lynn Torres, who died on March 29, 2016, was determined to be the result of anesthesia administered for the treatment of tooth decay, according to the Medical Examiner’s Office.

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Betty Squier, the girl’s mother, said the child’s dentist, Dr. Michael Melanson, told her that there were more problems with her daughter’s teeth than expected; she had six cavities, four more than they thought she had. On the day of Daisy Lynn’s appointment, Dr. David Williams was there as the mobile anesthesiologist with Texan Anesthesiology. According to the lawsuit, Dr. Williams “did not describe or explain the procedure that would be performed.”

“It’s not fair. There needs to be justice. Her life was cut short due to someone’s greed and negligence,” said Squier.

A report from a forensic dental examiner questioned why Torres was having a dental procedure before she died, prompting the dental practice to suspect the child’s dentist. “One can only speculate as to why any treatment was performed considering no indication of dental disease or pathology was seen in the dental radiographs (x-rays) in the dental visit dated 03/29/2016,” wrote Robert Williams, a forensic odontologist.

“He was committing fraud. He was doing unnecessary work to her teeth that didn’t need to be done,” Squier continued. “He was taking advantage of a little girl. He was taking advantage of parents that didn’t know any better. We’re not doctors. We trust our medical professionals to tell us what would be the right thing to do for our children, and he completely took advantage of us.”

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