Joan Rivers’ daughter files malpractice lawsuit against clinic: ‘We are outraged’

Joan Rivers’ daughter files malpractice lawsuit against clinic: ‘We are outraged’

Melissa Rivers blames her mother's death on the reported incompetence of her doctors.

Fashion Police star Joan Rivers died Sept. 4, days after going in for a routine endoscopy at a Manhattan clinic, and now her daughter is blaming the 81-year-old comedian’s death on the incompetence of her doctors. Melissa Rivers officially filed a malpractice lawsuit on Monday which claims her mother’s doctors at Yorkville Endoscopy performed unauthorized medical procedures, and spent more time trying to take pictures with Joan than paying attention to her deteriorating vital signs.

A Manhattan medical examiner stated last month that Rivers death was due to lack of oxygen which resulted in brain damage after she stopped breathing during the endoscopy, and classified her death as a therapeutic complication, rather than the result of negligence. However, in the lawsuit Melissa filed Monday in Manhattan State Supreme Court, the iconic comedian’s daughter claimed that the doctors should feel responsible because they reportedly mishandled the endoscopy and performed a laryngoscopy on Rivers’ vocal cords without consent. The anesthesiologist was concerned that the procedure would hinder Rivers’ ability to breathe, but gastroenterologist Dr. Lawrence Cohen told her she was being “paranoid.” Cohen has since resigned.

The lawsuit also revealed that Gwen Korovin, Rivers’ private ear, nose and throat specialist, performed two procedures at the clinic despite not being cleared to work there. After taking a picture with Cohen, Korovin fled the operating room to avoid being caught.

“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,” she said. “The level of medical mismanagement, incompetency, disrespect and outrageous behavior is shocking and frankly, almost incomprehensible.”

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services found that the clinic did in fact fail to keep proper medication records, neglected to get informed consent for every procedure performed, and failed to record Rivers’ weight before giving her sedation medication.

“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,” said Melissa Rivers’ attorneys, Jeffrey Bloom and Ben Rubinowitz.

Representatives from Yorkville have not yet commented on the lawsuit, but released a statement saying that The Rivers family “has, as it has always had, our deepest sympathies and condolences. The 51 physicians, nurses and staff who currently work at Yorkville remain firmly committed to providing the highest quality of care to their patients.”

While Yorkville has promised to make changes so they don’t repeat the errors they made with Rivers, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services federal agency said it will revoke the clinic’s accreditation unless it is in better compliance by March 2.

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