JACKSONVILLE, Fla. —
Action News has learned the Jacksonville pediatric dentist under investigation for allegations of mistreating children was sued nearly 20 years ago for performing unnecessary dental treatment on a child.
Amy Brown told Action News she brought her son Kyle Bramel to Dr. Howard Schneider in 1994 when Bramel was only 5 years old.
It was a decision she said that still haunts her.
“I felt so guilty and I still do,” Brown said. “I still feel very guilty.”
Brown said she brought Bramel in for a cleaning but instead Schneider ended up shaving down multiple teeth and put on silver caps without Brown’s permission.
Brown said her son was visibly injured and she rushed him to the emergency room.
“His mouth was cut open and he had bruises,” Brown said. “His lips were all swollen. He was choking on blood from crying.”Brown filed a lawsuit against Schneider that ended in a settlement of $7,500 with the insurance carrier.
From that amount, $2,222.38 went to costs and $3,000 went to attorney’s fees. Brown received $2,277.62 as Bramel’s mother and guardian, according to court documents.(settlement agreement at the end of this story)
The complaint said: “Howard S. Schneider, D.D.S. deviated from the prevailing professional standards of care.”
The lawsuit claimed Schneider was awarded “unwarranted financial gain” by unnecessarily placing sixteen crowns in Bramel’s mouth.
“It wasn’t very much for what Kyle was put through because his teeth are messed up forever,” Brown said. “His teeth will never be the same. His adult teeth didn’t come in right.”
Brown said she did not know that Schneider was still working as a pediatric dentist until learning about the recent protests outside of his office and hearing the stories of other parents coming forward about the injuries they said their children sustained at the hands of Schneider.
“It just flooded back memories for me I never wanted to revisit ever,” Brown said.
Brown said she’s hoping the state investigation will lead to Schneider closing his doors for good.
“I wish he would have been shut down then,” Brown said.
Friday, May 01, 2015
Howard S Schneider, DDS Jacksonville, Florida was sued for overtreatment of a 5 year old in 1994
