HOUSTON — A former Houston-area dentist is expected to be sentenced Thursday years after she performed a procedure that left a child permanently brain-damaged.
Bethaniel Jefferson was convicted of reckless injury to a child. She's facing up to 20 years in prison for her actions after a 4-year-old patient, Nevaeh Hall, ended up with brain damage.
Jefferson's defense attorney said the jury decided that the dentist took too long to call 911 for help when Nevaeh started seizing during a visit in 2016.
According to court documents, Nevaeh was given sedatives during a visit to Diamond Dental on Jan. 7, 2016. About three hours after Nevaeh got there, she suffered seizures and her body's oxygen and temperature levels dropped between 50% and 80% of normal, court records said.
Investigators said no one called for medical assistance for more than four hours. As a result, Nevaeh suffered hypoxia, leading to irreversible brain damage.
In 2017, after a court appearance, Jefferson's attorney said she was sympathetic toward Nevaeh's family.
