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An Alaska dentist, Seth Lookhart, is being prosecuted on 17 counts of fraud and "unlawful dental acts." It's one of these alleged dental acts — Count XI — that has moved me.
Court papers filed this week say in or around July 2016, Lookhart "performed a dental extraction procedure on a sedated patient while riding a hoverboard and filmed the procedure and distributed the film to persons outside his dental practice."
[...] What if his hoverboard skills weren't perfect? What if he'd slipped at the vital moment as his tools were gripped around the patient's teeth? Please forgive me if I also mention that hoverboards have been known to explode and catch fire.
Source: https://www.cnet.com/news/dentist-accused-of-extracting-teeth-while-riding-hoverboard-alaska/
(Score: 4, Informative) by n1 on Wednesday April 26 2017, @04:28PM
I'd guess it's in the same arena as speeding is illegal, even if you don't have a car accident... Taking unnecessary risks with potential to cause injury is negligence. Another example would be building code violations, just because the building didn't fall down or the electrical installation didn't kill anyone yet doesn't make it safe.
It's an odd situation for sure, but in the general context of making a medical procedure more unsafe just for fun is a fairly clear case of negligence to me, even if the patient wasn't concerned. The medical professional is the one with the responsibility and duty of care.