Nevaeh Hall and her mother Clara Clark.Photo:Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle via AP
Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle via AP
Jefferson did not call 911 for more than five hours while the child continued to seizure, experiencing three in total during the incident. Jefferson instead gave the 4-year-old a Halcion pill that is intended to treat insomnia and medical experts say should not be given to a child, according to the Chronicle’s court report.
The dentist also called a pastor and a pharmacist before calling 911, according to the newspaper’s report. Jefferson’s decision making immediately drew criticism from the doctor who treated the 4-year-old girl at the hospital.
Dr. Amy Arrington, one of the doctors who treated Hall at the hospital, said Jefferson “should have called 911” sooner. Arrington reported Jefferson to the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners, the doctor told the court.“It’s not something I took lightly,” Arrington testified in court, according to theChronicle. “I felt [Jefferson’s treatment] was below the standards of medical care.”
“Administering the Halcion drug was a mistake,” another medical expert, Dr. Roger Byrne, testified during the trial. Jefferson was given a five-year probation sentence on Thursday, ABC 13reported.
Bethaniel Jefferson.Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office
Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office
Hall’s family was awarded a $95 million settlement last year, according to ABC 13, who reported the girl, now 11, cannot walk or talk as a result of the brain injuries she suffered from a lack of oxygen during the incident with Jefferson.
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The young girl also needs help eating on her own and needs medical care night and day, according to the outlet.
“We were just a normal family, and when it happened, everything just changed,” Courissa Clark, the young girl’s mom, had told ABC13 back in 2016. “She used to be full of life. She was very happy, very outgoing. She loved people. She was a people person. Now, to me, she’s still the same person. Still love her the same as if she was right, if she was walking around.”
source: people.com
