The president of the Dental Board of California agreed to a $95,000 malpractice settlement before she was appointed to her post, according to a recent Los Angeles Times story.
Five years ago, Suzanne McCormick, D.D.S., mistakenly extracted two permanent molars from 13-year-old Joey Rossi, rather than the wisdom teeth she was supposed to remove, the paper reported.
"The mistake by McCormick, 49, who declined to be interviewed, highlights how little information is available to consumers from the agencies that are supposed to protect them," the Times article states. "Both the dentist and the board, which took no disciplinary action against her, contributed to keeping the incident secret."
Officials in the governor's office said they were not aware of the settlement before appointing her, according to the story.
"It was a messed-up deal what she did -- she made a big mistake," Rossi, now 18, told the Times. "People should know about this if she's the president of the dental board."
Dr. McCormick was appointed president of the dental board by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in February 2006 and reappointed for another term in March 2009.
California law requires certain settlements to be reported to the board.
"She did report this case to the board before she was appointed to the board," Russ Heimerich, spokesperson for the California Department of Consumer Affairs, told DrBicuspid.com.
"If we have taken action against a license, then it is reported on the site," he added. "She has not had any action taken against her license."
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