A dental assistant at a Kailua dental office where 3-year-old Finley Boyle fell into a coma during a 2013 visit and later died was arrested Wednesday and charged for allegedly administering drugs to a 2-year-old girl in 2013 who became unconscious for 12 hours.
Nicole “Momi” Dudoit, 29, was charged with second-degree assault and two counts of prohibited acts related to controlled substances, all Class C felonies punishable by up to five years in prison, the Attorney General’s Office said Wednesday in a news release.
Dudoit allegedly administered the drugs at Island Dentistry for Children Inc.
Josh Wisch, special assistant to the attorney general, said the child in this case is alive. He declined to provide the exact date of the treatment. He would not comment on whether a criminal investigation is ongoing in the Boyle case, or whether Dudoit is a suspect in that case or any other case.
Dudoit allegedly administered meperidine (used for pain relief) and chloral hydrate (a sedative) to a 2-year-old patient, who underwent a procedure that lasted about an hour and remained unconscious for
12 hours.
“The excessive duration of the patient’s unconsciousness placed her life at risk and caused a protracted loss of the function of her central nervous system,” the news release said.
Dudoit turned herself in to authorities Wednesday afternoon. She is scheduled to be arraigned at 8:30 a.m. Monday.
The Narcotics Enforcement Division and the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the Attorney General’s Office investigated the case.
In 2014, the Boyle family sued Dr. Lilly Geyer, Island Dentistry for Children and unidentified staff members, alleging negligence and dangerous conduct in sedating Finley and failing to prepare for medical emergencies. The suit was settled in June 2014.
“Knowing the way that the conscious sedation was handled in Finley Boyle’s case on Dec. 3, 2013, I’m not surprised to hear that this woman, who I don’t know, was charged with an incident,” said Rick Fried, the attorney who represented the Boyle family in the lawsuit.
“I just don’t know if (Dudoit) was or wasn’t involved” in administering the sedating drugs, Fried said. There was no need to sue any assistants in the Boyle family’s case because there was significant insurance coverage, he said.
Ashley Boyle was told to wait in the waiting room while daughter Finley was given oral sedatives by a technician. The girl suffered massive brain damage and died Jan. 3, 2014.
Fried said no criminal charges have been filed in the Boyle case, but he said the state is looking into the possibility.