Court demands help for boy, 10, with needle stuck in jaw for 7 years

The Appeal Court has told those involved in a medical negligence lawsuit to “get to solving the issue,” since it involves a ten year-old boy who has had a needle stuck in his jaw for the last seven years.

“You have a child with a needle in his jaw and it doesn’t excite feeling to get this resolved? No, get to it,” was the reprimand of Justice of Appeal Charmaine Pemberton.

She and Justice of Appeal Prakash Moosai presided over a procedural appeal brought by the boy’s mother against the dental surgeon who did root canal surgery on the boy, then three, in 2013.

According to the medical negligence lawsuit she filed in 2017, the child complained of constant toothaches and the dental surgeon determined he had an exposed nerve that needed to be surgically corrected.

He had the surgery, but two days later, the dentist’s office told the child’s mother the needle used could not be found and it was believed the child might have swallowed it during the surgery.

An X-ray showed the needle was embedded in the child’s left jaw. Initially, removal was not advised, but three years later an unsuccessful attempt was made to extract it.

Another attempt will cost the child’s parents $25,000.

In July, Justice Robin Mohammed dismissed the mother’s entire claim in a summary judgment, and held that the claimant had no realistic prospect of success in his claim for compensation.

The child’s mother appealed,

At Monday’s hearing, attorney Gregory Pantin, who represents the dentist, admitted the trial judge could have allowed part of the claim to go to trial, but said he was not conceding that the judge was entirely wrong in his disposition of the case.

Attorney Shawn Roopnarine, who represents the child and his mother, argued that the case could have proceeded on portions of the claim.

He said he judge appeared to have lost sight of the injury itself and focused on the effect of the injury to the child, He said the judge could have ordered expert evidence before dismissing the matter.

In adjourning the appeal, Moosai and Pemberton urged the parties to come up with a solution so the child can have the surgery to remove the needle and then they could argue about causation.

They suggested the lawyers write to the UWI dental school for the child to be examined.

“We have a specialist dental school. We have highly qualified local medical practitioners,” Moosai said.

“We train all sorts of dentists there. Why not make use of what we have?” Pemberton said. “We are here to help this litigant. This is the important person…Not amplifying principles of law. Lawyers are servants of the people,” she insisted.

The parties will return to court on December 21, but they are to give the court a status update in November on their efforts to get relief for the child.