HOUSTON — A dental assistant working at a Kingwood dental surgery office is suing the practice owners and a manufacturer after an Autoclave device suddenly exploded and caused her second-and third-degree burns and hearing loss.
Sara Underferth and Thomas Underferth filed a complaint Oct. 24 in Harris County District Court against Northeast Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery Inc., dentists Robert Stanton, Victor Manon and Ermelinda Da Ponte and Surgiquip Solutions, Inc, alleging negligence and product liability.
According to the complaint, Sara Underferth was working Dec. 5, 2017, for Norhteast Oral. The suit states a malfunctioning Autoclave that had been previously serviced by Surgiquip was taken out of service and had been placed in a storage room Autoclave exploded while Underferth was in the room.
The suit states the compressed stream caused second-degree burns to Underferth's left arm, stomach and upper body and the sound of the explosion caused her hearing loss.
Her husband, Thomas Underferth alleges loss of household services and loss of household consortium.
The Underferths seek monetary relief between $1 million and $10 million, interest, litigation costs and all other just relief. They are represented by attorney Terry Bryant of The Terry Bryant Law Firm PLLC in Houston .
Harris County District Court case number 2019-77932