A Laurel woman is suing a dentist for pulling the wrong teeth, then claims her medical records were falsified to cover up the incident.
Teresa Black filed a lawsuit against William T. Petrey, DMD, Inc. and William Todd Petrey, DMD, on April 23 — alleging that Petrey’s negligence caused him to suffer severe pain, mental anguish, emotional distress, additional medical expenses and loss of enjoyment of life.
The lawsuit alleges that Black visited Dr. Petrey’s office on April 6, 2023 for pain stemming from a broken tooth. She was scheduled to be extradited on April 22, 2023. In the meantime, Black was prescribed Hydrocodone for the pain. However, Black states in the lawsuit that she could not take the Hydrocodone because of an allergy — which she said she told Petrey.
“She was unable to use the medication in question for pain relief and remained in pain prior to her appointment,” the lawsuit alleges.
Additionally, Black claims she signed paperwork to have tooth #12 (broken tooth) and #3 (supposedly damaged) removed at the April 22nd appointment. Instead, teeth #2 and #14 were extracted – a tooth that was reportedly healthy. This kept Black in pain from the broken tooth still in her mouth, as well as the extraction of the two extracted teeth. “As a result, he was unable to chew solid food for several months,” the lawsuit continues.
The broken tooth then had additional decay, causing more pain and creating an infection and further breakage. The lawsuit states that Black suffered “significant impairment in her quality of life, including, but not limited to, being unable to eat due to pain, unable to sleep due to pain, and causing her severe anxiety.”
These issues caused further distress, resulting in Black going to the Whitehouse Clinic in Berea in September, where she needed dental work. That visit also revealed that Black had calcium buildup in her mouth, which Petrey had not diagnosed or treated. This required Black to have both sides cleaned and additional dental procedures before surgery.
In addition, Black claims that records from Petrey’s office “show a change in the consent form, with the teeth he consented to the extraction of teeth number 3 and 12, were crossed out and instead, teeth 2 and 14 had written in the next in the deleted teeth, indicating an attempt to cover negligent exports.’
Black is suing for negligence and fraudulent concealment and is seeking compensatory damages for all injuries, punitive damages “for Defendant’s bad faith attempt to conceal Defendant’s negligence by fraudulently altering Plaintiff’s medical records,” a jury trial, costs and attorneys’ fees. fees and any other relief the Court deems entitled.
Petrey’s attorney, Melanie S. Mars with Kinkead & Stilz of Lexington, filed a response to Black’s allegations on May 13.
“Plaintiff’s complaint fails to state any claims upon which relief may be granted and should be dismissed with prejudice,” the written response opens.
As to the allegations made by Black against Dr. Petrey, the response denies all allegations. It further states that Black’s injuries/damages “arising from an act or omission of someone other than the Defendant, that the claim is barred by the statute of limitations, and that Black’s injuries “if any, were the result of a superseding or intervening cause, or causes on over which the Defendant had no control. It also states that Black “may not have exercised the requisite degree of care for her own health and safety” or “may have been the result of a pre-existing condition or condition that was undiagnosed at the time of plaintiff’s treatment.”
The response also states that Black’s complaint “may have failed to properly mitigate damages,” that Petrey “acted within the standard of care required of him,” that Black is not entitled to punitive damages under Kentucky law, and the United States Constitution.
The last paragraph of Petrey’s answer states that he “requests that the Complaint be dismissed and awarded zero, for costs incurred herein, reasonable attorneys’ fees, trial by jury and any other relief to which he may appear to be entitled.”
