State Asked To Discipline Dangerous Doctors

By Pam Zekman, CBS 2 Investigative Reporter
Feb 15, 2005

The Better Government Association is calling for the state to clean up its act when it comes to disciplining dangerous doctors. As investigative reporter Pam Zekman reports, the challenge comes in response to her reports, and the BGA's own probe involving the case of a dentist operating without a license.

Four years ago Santiago Arminana had three teeth pulled by a person he thought was a licensed dentist.

He says he wound up with bone and gum damage that another dentist says will cost up to $12,000 to repair. He complained to the state in April 2002, then learned the person who did the damage was not licensed.

"She was illegal. I was in shock," Arminana said.

He was more shocked when the state gave her a license six months later.

The head of the Better Government Association was outraged by Arminana's story.

"The complaint was filed before this individual was licensed, that should be a red flag," said Jay Stewart with the BGA. “Did the investigative side ever talk to the licensing side?"

There was no comment from the Department of Professional Regulation, but two years later DPR did charge that the dentist extracted teeth and removed tissue without a license in Arminana’s case.

Now the state wants the license suspended that Arminana says should never have been given in the first place.

"Because she harmed me and she can harm other people," Arminana said.

Harm done to other patients by dangerous doctors we've exposed is now prompting a call for DPR to ask for legislative help in Springfield.

"They have a duty to protect the public and if they don't have the right tools or the right staff they can certainly go down there and ask for it," Stewart said.

That's exactly what the head of DPR says he will do if necessary.

"There is a need to revamp the program and the regulatory process and for the last year we have been working on doing that," said DPR head Fernando Grillo.

Grillo says he also supports the thrust of a patient right to know bill introduced by State Rep. Mary Flowers as a result of our earlier reports.

Hearings are scheduled later this month on the measure that will give patients more information about a doctors before they go to see them.

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