Joan Rivers was a famous comedian who died on September 4th, 2014. She died while undergoing a routine medical procedure called an endoscopy at Yorkville Endoscopy in Manhattan. Joan was unconscious at the hospital, and her doctors kept her sedated with propofol. While sedated, she died due to low oxygen levels in her blood. Robert J. DeBry & Associates have a wrongful death lawyer who could help in such a case.
Cause of Death
Joan Rivers’ Doctor’s Office, Yorkville Endoscopy, was investigated upon her death, but they did not suspect wrongdoing. The Medical Examiner’s Office of New York stated that it did not find an apparent medical error that led to Ms. Rivers’ death after an autopsy. The office claimed that her death was due to a therapeutic complication which was a possibility in an endoscopy. The Medical Examiner’s report also stated that they could not establish why the abrupt lack of oxygen contributed to Joan Rivers’s Death.
Medical Malpractice
In 2015, Melissa Rivers, Joan’s daughter, filed a medical malpractice suit in The Supreme Court of Manhattan against the hospital where her mother died. She claimed that the hospital’s medical staff performed unauthorized procedures on Joan Rivers. One of the pieces of evidence in her suit was a selfie taken by the medical staff with Joan Rivers while she was under anesthesia.
Melissa Rivers contacted a wrongful death lawyer to help her with the case. The lawsuit claimed the doctors at the clinic performed a laryngoscopy on her vocal cords without consent instead of an endoscopy which caused the lack of oxygen. Lawyers settled the Rivers lawsuit out of court in 2016.
The passing of Joan Rivers was a sad day in entertainment history. Her family got restitution for the hospital’s wrongdoing. If your loved one dies similarly, contact a wrongful death lawyer from Robert J. De Bry & Associates for a consultation.