dr. thomas floyd, dds case 2012-03003 - florida doh v floyd - amended complaint

7/29/2019 Dr. Thomas Floyd, DDS Case 2012-03003 - Florida DOH v Floyd - Amended Complaint

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FILEDDEPARTMENT OF HEALTHD E P U T Y C L E R K

CLERK Angel SandersDATE JAN 2 2 2013

S TA T E O F F L O R I D ABOARD OF DENTISTRY

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH,PETITIONER,

v.ASE NO. 2012-03003THOMAS P. FLOYD, D.M.D.,RESPONDENT.AMENDED ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLAINT

Petitioner Department of Health, by and through its undersignedcounsel, files this Administrative Complaint before the Board of Dentistryagainst the Respondent Thomas P. Floyd, D.M.D., and states:

1. Petitioner is the agency charged with regulating the practice ofdentistry pursuant to Section 20.43, Florida Statutes; Chapter 456, FloridaStatutes; and Chapter 466, Florida Statutes.

2. At all times material to this Complaint, Respondent has beenlicensed to practice dentistry within the State of Florida, having beenissued license numbered DN 8006.

3. Respondent's business practice is "Thomas P. Floyd, D.M.D., P.A.,Pediatric Dentistry" and his address of record with the Board of Dentistry is


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400 Executive Center Dr., Suite 103, West Palm Beach, Florida 33401.Ano ther known address for Respon dent is 258 Golfview D rive, Tequesta,Florida 33469.

4. On or about February 28, 2012, Dr. Floyd provided dentaltreatment to "K.G.", a seven-year-old female.

5. When K.G. came out of treatment, her clothes and hair weredamp and in disarray as though she had been struggling. Her motherasked her if she had been crying, but K.G. was too upset to answer.

6. K.G. told her m other she did no t like Dr. Floyd and that he hadtried to kill her. Wh en D r. Floyd w as wo rking on her teeth, she told him,"It hurts, Dr. Floyd, it hurts!" but Dr. Floyd answ ered, "Shu t up, you dam nbrat."

7. When she con tinued to call his nam e, telling h im he was hurtingher, Dr. Floyd ag ain told her to shut up and to stop calling out his name.

8. Dr. Floyd then took the b lue dental bib that was around her neckand stuffed it into her mo uth.

9. K.G. could not breathe with the bib in her mouth and her armswere tied dow n; she was able finally to free one of her arms, pu ll the bibout of her m outh, and throw it on the floor.


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10. Dr. Floyd then grabbed her by the hair, pulled her head back ,and pushed on her forehead to hold her back in the chair.

11. K.G. said she w as in pain the whole tim e; even though she toldDr. Floyd she was hurting while he pulled her teeth, he ignored her.

12. When K.G.'s mother confronted him about his actions, herefused to discus s the m atter; thereafter, she filed a com plaint with theWest Palm Beach Police Department, which initiated an investigation.

13. In a sworn statement obtained by the W est Palm B each PoliceDepartment, one of Respo ndent's employees affirm ed that Respo ndentoften stuffs bibs into sm all patients' mouths w hen they are crying.

14. Fundam ental pediatric dentistry requires that children be taughtto cooperate in their dental treatment; however, abusive or condescendinglanguage tow ards a child has n o place in the p ractice of dentistry, fallsbelow minimum standards of performance in dental treatment anddiagnosis, and cons titutes m isconduct in the practice of dentistry.

15. Respondent's actions of telling K.G. to "shut up" and calling hera brat do not m eet minimum standards of performance in dentistry andalso constitute misconduct in the practice of dentistry.


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16. There is no standard of care in the practice of dentistry thatallows or con done s beha vioral controls of stuffing a d ental bib in a child's

mouth to prevent crying or pulling a child's head back by the hair as arestraint.

17. Respondent's use of those methods on K.G. does not meetm inim um standards of practice in pediatric treatment and diagnosis.

18. Respon dent 's use of those b ehavioral control methods alsoconstitutes misconduct.

19. Minimum standards of perform ance and care in administeringanesthesia require that a practit ioner use the m inim um am ount necessaryto keep the patient from e xperiencing pain and discom fort.

20. Minimu m prevailing standards of diagnosis and treatmen t in thepractice of pediatric den tistry required that when a child expresses pain ordistress, the practitioner stop the dental procedure to determine thesource of discomfort, e.g., whether adequate anesthesia has beenobtaine d or wh ether the child is expe riencing fear and anx iety. If the childis experiencing p ain, then the practit ion er shou ld adm inister addit ion allocal anesthetic within the do sage l im it for the child, using the m inim umamount necessary to keep the child from experiencing pain and


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discomfort. If the child is experiencing fear and anxiety, the practitionershould stop the procedure unless the procedure is at a stage where more

harm would occur to the patient by not proceeding (e.g., severe bleeding).21. While pulling K.G.'s teeth, Respondent failed to respond to her

cries of pain by providing additional anesthetic or stopping the procedure.22. Ignoring a child's cries of pain also constitutes misconduct in the

practice of dentistry.23. Respondent's treatment plans for K.G. included a sealant for

tooth #3, and disk 'sanding' tooth #I for slight decay. Neither tooth wasdiagnosed correctly or treated appropriately.

24. Bitewings taken by Respondent on February 12, 2012, showadvanced decay in tooth #3 well into the dentin.

25. Minimum standards of performance in diagnosis and treatmentof a tooth with significant decay is a restorative procedure to remove thedecay and replace the missing tooth structure with appropriate material.

26. Respondent's treatment of the decay in tooth #3 by applying asealant does not meet minimum standards of diagnosis and treatment.

27. The left bitewing x-ray of tooth #I taken by Respondent onFebruary 21, 2012, shows advanced interproximal decay on the distal


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surface of the tooth into the dentin, well beyond the dentin-enameljunction.

28. Respondent's treatment, consisting of removing enamel on thedistal surface ("disking") of tooth #I, does not meet minimum standards ofperformance in managing the disease and decay process. It is analogousto sanding sheetrock to remove termites in the wall of a living room.

29. Bitewing x-rays taken of teeth #3 and #I by the West PalmBeach Health Department on July 9, 2010, less than five months afterRespondent's x-rays, show rapid progression of decay in both teeth,extremely close toif not already intothe pulp, as a result ofRespondent's inappropriate treatment.

COUNT I

30. Petitioner realleges and incorporates paragraphs 1 through 18as though fully restated herein.

31. Section 466.028(1)(t), Florida Statutes provides that acts offraud, deceit, and misconduct in the practice of dentistry or oral hygieneconstitute grounds for disciplinary action.


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32. Resp onden t's acts of yelling at K.G., stuffing a d ental bib in hermou th, pulling her head back by her hair, and ignoring he r cries of pain

constitute violations of section 466.028(1)(t), Florida Statutes.COUNT II

33. Petitioner realleges and incorporates p aragraphs 1 through 17as thoug h fully restated herein.

34. Section 466.028(x), Florida Statutes, subjects a licensee todisciplinary action for being g uilty of incom petence or neg ligence by failingto meet the minimum standards of performance in diagnosis andtreatment when measured against generally prevailing peer performance.

35. Resp onden t's acts of yelling at K .G., stuffing a dental bib in hermou th, pulling her head back by her hair, and ignoring he r cries of painconstitute violations of section 466.028(1)(x), Florida Statutes.

COUNT III

36. Petitioner realleges and incorporates paragrap hs 1 through 3and 19 through 22 as thoug h fully restated herein.

37. Section 466.028(x), Florida Statutes, subjects a licensee todisciplinary action for being g uilty of incomp etence or negligence b y failing


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to meet the minimum standards of performance in diagnosis andtreatmen t wh en m easured against generally prevailing peer performance.

38. Dr. Floyd fai led to m eet minimum standards of performance indiagnosis and treatme nt of K.G. by fai l ing to adm inister addit ional localanes thetic or stopp ing the proced ure in respon se to K.G.'s cries that shew as in pain, thereby violating sec tion 466.028(1)(x), Florida Statutes.

COUNT IV39. Petitioner realleges an d incorporates parag raphs 1 through 3

and 23 through 29 as thoug h fully restated herein.40. Section 466.028(x), Florida Statutes, subjects a licensee to

disciplinary ac tion for being gu ilty of incom petenc e or neg ligenc e by failingto meet the minimum standards of performance in diagnosis andtreatment w hen measu red against generally prevailing peer p erform ance.

41. Respond ent failed to meet m inimu m prevail ing standards ofperformance and diagnosis in treating K.G.'s teeth #5 an d #1, therebyviolating section 466.028(x), Florida Statutes.

WH ERE FORE , Petitioner respectfully requests that the Board ofDentistry enter an order imp osing one o r mo re of the follow ing penalt ies:perm anent revocation or suspen sion of Respo ndent's license, restriction of


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, . - : ( C T r i 144,A

practice, imposition of an administrative fine, issuance of a reprimand,placement of R espondent on probation, corrective action, refund of feesbilled or collected, remedial education and/or any other relief that theBoard deems appropriate.

SIGNED this flf January, 2013 .John H. A rmstrong, M DState Surgeon G eneral and Secretary of HealthDepartment of HealthGail Scott H illAssistant General CounselDOH Prosecution Services Unit4052 B ald C ypress Way, Bin C-65Tallahassee, FL 32399-3265Florida B ar # 909289(850) 245-4640 Telephone(850) 245-46 83 Facsimile

PC P: 9/25/12PC P M embers: C.M., J.T.M., and W .R.

dr. thomas floyd, dds case 2012-03003 - florida doh v floyd - amended complaint

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