"It's crazy!" - Patient of "hoverboard dentist" testifies in court

The patient who had her tooth pulled by Dr. Seth Lookhart while he was riding a hoverboard testified in court Wednesday as the last witness called by the prosecution.

Veronica Wilhelm was sedated when Lookhart performed the procedure in July of 2016. Wilhelm testified that she had been sedated previously when undergoing oral surgery because she is allergic to medicines used for local anesthetics.

"When did Dr. Lookhart get your approval to take out your tooth on a hoverboard?" prosecutor Joan Wilson asked.

"He never did. I obviously wouldn't have approved that. That's dangerous," Wilhelm answered.

"If you were awake and not sedated when Dr. Lookhart came into the operatory on a hoverboard, what would you have said to him?" Wilson continued.

"I would've said 'hell no!' No, that's unprofessional. It's crazy," Wilhelm replied.

Wilhelm testified that she did not give consent to being filmed while sedated and that she didn't know a video was taken until an investigator contacted her. Phone records show that Lookhart texted the video to at least eight people, in some messages calling it "A new standard of care."

On cross-examination, Lookhart's attorney apologized to the patient.

"I want you to know that as his lawyer, I apologize for what he did on that hoverboard. It's unacceptable and be assured that when I agreed to represent him I got in his face and told him what I thought about him for doing this," defense attorney Paul Stockler said.

Stockler offered Wilhelm a chance to address Lookhart directly.

"I have empathy, so I feel for you. I don't feel bad for what you did on the hoverboard, just I think you could've made better choices," Wilhelm said. "Probably could've been a really good dentist. I don't have anything bad to say about taking out my tooth, I appreciate that, but I just think that what you did was outrageous, narcissistic you know, and crazy. I forgive you for all of that, but there's obviously a high-priced lesson that you're going to have to learn."

Although the hoverboard incident is dramatic, Lookhart's most serious charges allege that fraudulently billed Medicaid approximately $1.8 million dollars and stole approximately $250,000 from his partners.

The trial is expected to conclude this week but could continue into Monday.