Former Kailua dentist Lilly Geyer was indicted by an Oahu grand jury Thursday and charged with manslaughter in the death of 3-year-old Finley Puleo Boyle, who suffered cardiac arrest in the dentist’s chair on Dec. 3, 2013, and later died.
Attorney General Doug Chin announced that Geyer is charged with 37 counts in the indictment, involving treatment of patients from October to December 2013 at her practice in Kailua. They include numerous instances of medical assistance fraud and prohibited acts related to controlled substances.
She is also accused of second-degree assault in connection with her treatment of another young child on Nov. 20, 2013. The indictment identifies that child only as JK, who was born in 2011.
Geyer is charged with second-degree assault for recklessly causing serious bodily injury to Boyle, identified only as FB, the indictment said, adding that Geyer is charged with manslaughter for recklessly causing Boyle’s death, and with manslaughter by omission for failing to perform a duty imposed by law.
A bench warrant was issued for Geyer’s arrest, and bail was set at $100,000.
The charges follow a joint investigation by the Department of Public Safety, Narcotics Enforcement Division and the attorney general’s Medicaid Fraud Control unit.
Boyle was heavily sedated and stopped breathing while being treated at Island Dentistry for Children on Dec. 3, 2013. She suffered severe brain damage and never regained full consciousness.
She died Jan. 3, 2014. An autopsy found she died of complications following cardiac arrest, likely caused by the drugs given to sedate her.
Ashley Boyle, Finley’s mother, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser at the time that she had taken her daughter for her first visit to the dentist in November 2013. Boyle said she was shocked when the dentist said her daughter had 10 cavities and needed four “baby root canals,” also known as pulpectomies.
Later, while her daughter lingered in a coma, a different dentist performed an exam, including X-rays, and concluded that Finley had just a few cavities.
Boyle, a registered nurse, said she was in the waiting room but was not notified of the emergency. Geyer’s staff summoned a pediatrician down the hall to help revive the child. Boyle found out something was wrong only when emergency responders arrived.
The child received five drugs, according to the autopsy report. They included Demerol, hydroxyzine and chlorohydrate, as well as nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas, and an injection of a local anesthetic, lidocaine with epinephrine.
Boyle said her girl, who weighed 38 pounds, had been massively overdosed. She said that if simple precautions had been taken, her child might still be healthy today.
Finley’s parents sued Geyer, alleging negligent and dangerous conduct in sedating their daughter, and failing to prepare for or respond appropriately to the emergency. The suit was settled in 2014.
Medical assistance fraud and prohibited acts related to controlled substances are Class C felonies, each punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Second-degree assault carries the same penalty. Manslaughter is a Class A felony punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $25,000 fine, with a minimum of six years and eight months, before being eligible for parole.
The attorney general’s office said Geyer is subject to enhanced sentencing because two of the patients were children under age 8.
The controlled-substances charges allege that she did “distribute, administer, prescribe or dispense a controlled substance” in violation of the law.
The medical assistance fraud charges allege she made false statements in applying for benefits or payments in order to obtain greater compensation than deserved.
Geyer, who had been licensed to practice general dentistry in Hawaii since July 2005, shut down her practice Jan. 1, 2014. One of the charges in the indictment says she failed to notify the state Department of Public Safety that she had discontinued her business.
State v Geyer Indictment
