Disturbing details emerge in Joan Rivers death lawsuit

Comedian Joan Rivers passed away on September 4th, 2014 after undergoing what was to be a routine upper endoscopy, or EGD. Though anesthetic complications are not unheard of and can be no fault of attending physicians, new controversial evidence suggests that unauthorized procedures as well as inattention to Rivers during her visit were what ultimately led to her demise.

The scheduled EGD also came with possible biopsy/possible polypectomy procedure and possible dilation of the esophagus. Due to complications during the procedure, Rivers’s blood oxygen levels dropped too low and she started to experience brain damage.

SEE ALSO: How could Joan Rivers’s routine procedure go so wrong?

Joan’s daughter, Melissa, has filed a lawsuit against the clinic, indicating in a statement it was “reckless, grossly negligent and wanton.”

“What ultimately guided me was my unwavering belief that no family should ever have to go through what my mother, Cooper and I have been through,” she said in a statement, referring to her son. “The level of medical mismanagement, incompetency, disrespect and outrageous behavior is shocking and frankly, almost incomprehensible.”

Extra procedures that weren’t authorized in writing

According to the lawsuit filed, Joan entered the clinic and gave written consent to have an endoscopy, or EGD, with possible biopsy/possible polypectomy and possible dilation of the esophagus performed. No other procedures were authorized in writing.

For reasons unknown to Melissa, her mother was first given a layrngoscopy, a procedure she did not consent to in writing, and it was during this first procedure that her oxygen saturation levels were noted as too low.

The lawsuit then indicates, as reported by CNN, that attending doctors Dr. Gwen Korovin, Dr. Lawrence Cohen and Dr. Renuka Bankulla went on to perform the EGD originally consented to, though the procedure had to be stopped and restarted as Rivers’s oxygen levels continued to fall below the safe margin.

Despite on-going issues with providing adequate oxygen to the brain, Dr. Cohen took time to take a selfie with Joan Rivers after he had finished the EGD.

Dr. Gwen Korovin then stated she wanted to perform a second layrngoscopy despite a concern voiced by Dr. Bankulla that the procedure could compromise Rivers’ airway. At this point, reports indicate Cohen told Bankulla she was just “being paranoid.”

Joan Rivers suffered a spasm of the vocal cords making it difficult for her to breathe, and her vital signs started to drop severely. According to the official report from the medical examiner, the cause of Rivers’ death was brain damage defined as “anoxic encephalopathy due to hypoxic arrest,” that happened specifically during the layrngoscopy.

“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,” Melissa Rivers’s attorneys, Jeffrey Bloom and Ben Rubinowitz said, as reported by AP.

SEE ALSO: Did too much Propofol kill Joan Rivers?

Manhattan’s Yorkville Endoscopy clinic, when contacted by the media, indicated it did not feel it appropriate to comment on the case itself, but issued a statement of sympathy for the Rivers family.

“The Rivers family has, as it has always had, our deepest sympathies and condolences,” the statement said. “The 51 physicians, nurses and staff who currently work at Yorkville remain firmly committed to providing the highest quality of care to their patients.”

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