Jimmy Marks’ widow sues dentist over death
The widow of Spokane Gypsy leader Jimmy Marks is accusing a Spokane dentist of giving her husband a too-strong dose of anesthetic that led to his death.
Jane Marks’ lawsuit against dentist Mark C. Paxton, his business and his spouse was filed this week in Spokane County Superior Court. It seeks an unspecified sum, including a judgment to be proven at trial, costs and attorney fees.
Paxton administered general anesthesia to Marks on June 22, 2007. Marks, 62, “experienced respiratory arrest, cardiac arrest, and brain damage,” the complaint says. He was taken by ambulance to Sacred Heart Medical Center, where he died at 11:58 a.m. June 27.
The cause listed on his death certificate is cardiac arrest.
The complaint says Paxton failed to provide the minimum standard of care by giving general anesthesia without an accurate risk assessment, without proper personnel, without considering other prescription medications Marks was taking and by continuing the surgery after low blood-oxygen saturation.
John Versnel III, a Seattle lawyer representing Paxton, said Friday he hadn’t been provided a copy of the lawsuit. A receptionist at Paxton’s office at 12109 E. Broadway said he’s in Guatemala for two weeks and unavailable for comment.
State investigators from the Washington Department of Health who examine every death in a dentist’s or doctor’s office notified Paxton in August that he wasn’t negligent in Marks’ death, Versnel said. The panel that reviewed the case included two dentists.
Marks’ death was “unfortunate and tragic. But in anything involving anesthetics, there can be an outcome that’s less than favorable,” Versnel added.
The lawsuit filed by Spokane attorney Russell Jones on behalf of the Marks estate will challenge the state’s finding of no negligence. The court file includes a statement from Dr. Armen Bogosian, of Anacortes, Wash., a board-certified anesthesiologist who reviewed Marks’ records and concluded there is a “reasonable probability” that Paxton didn’t follow the accepted standard of care.
Paxton rated Marks as a No. 2 on the American Society of Anesthesiologists’ risk scale when he actually was a higher risk of 3 to 4 because of other medical conditions, Bogosian said. Marks had suffered from heart disease and diabetes for several years and underwent two surgeries in 2006 and 2007 to have a pacemaker installed.
“Anesthesia administered by Dr. Paxton to Mr. Marks on June 22, 2007, was too great for Mr. Marks, proximately causing the patient’s injury and death,” according to Bogosian.
Paxton has been in trouble before with state regulators, records show.
The state’s Dental Quality Assurance Commission concluded in January 2005 that Paxton violated state regulations by allowing unlicensed surgical aides to start IVs and administer general anesthetic during dental operations.
Paxton was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine and stop using unlicensed workers.
He was also required to have state Department of Health inspectors audit records and monitor his practice for two years. Paxton was issued a state dentist’s license in July 1980.
The lawsuit against Paxton was assigned to Superior Court Judge Robert Austin. A status conference is scheduled in June.