Melissa Rivers Tries To Get Justice For Mother’s Death, Files Lawsuit

Melissa Rivers has filed a lawsuit against the clinic where her mother, Joan Rivers, underwent an outpatient procedure that resulted in her death. Melissa released a statement regarding the lawsuit, a...
Melissa Rivers Tries To Get Justice For Mother’s Death, Files Lawsuit
Written by Val Powell
  • Melissa Rivers has filed a lawsuit against the clinic where her mother, Joan Rivers, underwent an outpatient procedure that resulted in her death. Melissa released a statement regarding the lawsuit, alleging that the clinic is guilty of committing several errors that contributed to her mother’s cardiac arrest. “Filing this lawsuit was one of the most difficult decisions I’ve ever had to make,” Melissa Rivers said in the statement. “What ultimately guided me was my unwavering belief that no family should ever have to go through what my mother, [my son] Cooper and I have been through.”

    “The level of medical mismanagement, incompetency, disrespect and outrageous behavior is shocking and frankly, almost incomprehensible,” Melissa Rivers added. Joan Rivers was being treated at Yorkville Endoscopy for voice changing and acid reflux problems back in August 2014. According to Reports, Joan went into cardiac arrest after a routine procedure blocked the passage of oxygen to her brain. She died a month later after being taken off life support.

    Some of the claims against Yorkville Endoscopy include their negligence and failure to keep medical records, their failure to get consent for every procedure performed, and allowing Joan Rivers’ personal ears, nose, and throat specialist to take part in the procedure despite not being authorized by the clinic. The lawsuit also claims that a laryngoscopy was performed without Rivers’ consent. When an anesthesiologist expressed concern about the effects of the procedure on her breathing, the gastroenterologist performing the surgery brushed her off and said that she “was being paranoid”.

    Melissa Rivers’ attorneys also released a statement about the lawsuit, saying, “To put it mildly, we are not just disappointed by the acts and omissions leading to the death of Joan Rivers, but we are outraged by the lack of care and concern for Ms. Rivers on the part of her treating physicians and the endoscopy center where the treatment was rendered.”

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