Mother settles dentist legal case

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A mother who was suing a health board after her son suffered a cardiac arrest during a visit to the dentist has reached an out of court settlement.

Anne Marie Gallacher had been seeking £2.5m in damages over the treatment at Townhead Health Centre in Glasgow.

She said the incident in March 2002, left her son Ryan, then aged six, with brain damage.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde denied liability. The terms of the settlement have not been disclosed.

The court heard how Ryan Gallacher, now 14, went to the health centre with his mother for a dentist to remove four permanent teeth and five milk teeth.

He was given a general anaesthetic but during the dental procedure a tooth crumbled as it was extracted and a tube-like Laryngeal Mask Airway (LMA) was inserted to protect his airway.

Hospital treatment

Ryan developed breathing problems and suffered a cardiac arrest before he was resuscitated.

He spent almost two months in hospital after the incident and received physiotherapy and speech and occupational therapy.

Lawyers acting for Ms Gallacher alleged that the anaesthetist, Dr Alexander Colquhoun, had a duty to take reasonable care not to remove the LMA while Ryan was deeply under the influence of anaesthetic.

Ms Gallacher, from Old Kilpatrick, West Dunbartonshire, was seeking compensation alleging her son suffered "significant brain damage" after his heart stopped.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde denied liability for the incident

She alleged he would have significant difficulties living independently as an adult and would require support.

The health board maintained that the anaesthetist, a consultant at Glasgow Royal Infirmary who is now an associate professor in anaesthetics at an American university, complied with all duties of reasonable care.

It said that leaving the LMA in place until asthmatic Ryan began to recover from the anaesthetic carried a risk of inducing bronchospasm in the child.

At the start of the hearing on Tuesday, Dr Colquhoun, 54, told the court that the incident was "a unique experience" and that Ryan was the only healthy individual where he ended up in "a cardiac arrest situation".

He told the court that there was a history of mild asthma with the child but said: "On talking to his mother that day he was well and there was no problem."

On Wednesday, Lord Uist, was told that the case, which was scheduled to last three weeks, had now been settled. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed.