Dentist sued over woman's death

NEW YORK, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- The family of a New York woman who suffered brain damage after having her teeth extracted is suing for wrongful death, court records show.

Felita Dowdy, a 33-year-old Bronx woman who had cerebral palsy, died three months after having her teeth removed by Dr. Bruce Lish at St. Luke's Hospital in Manhattan.

Dowdy's family, who is suing Lish and the hospital, said the woman's teeth had rotted because of the cerebral palsy and she was admitted to St. Luke's to have them removed last July 23, The New York Daily News reported Tuesday.

Soon after the extraction, she went into respiratory arrest, suffered brain damage and died Oct. 14 of complications from the surgery, an autopsy report said.

The painkiller fentanyl was a "contributing factor" in Dowdy's death, the family's lawyer, Stuart Kitchner, alleges in a lawsuit filed last week in Bronx Supreme Court.

Lish was out of town, but his father, Dr. Jerome Lish, also a dentist, said his son treats many disabled patients and was not at fault. Through a spokesman, hospital officials extended condolences to the Dowdy family, but said they could not comment further because of the litigation.