It sounds like New York's Department of Health and Human Services has just made Melissa Rivers's malpractice suit a whole lot easier. As we recently told you, Melissa has hired a high-powered Manhattan law firm to represent her on behalf of Joan Rivers's estate. Page Six said Joan checked herself into the Yorkville Endoscopy Clinic Aug. 28 for what was intended to be an exploitative procedure and went into cardiac arrest while sedated with Propofol. According to the agency, the clinic screwed up by not dosing Joan properly.
Propofol's dosage is dependent upon a patient's weight and, apparently, Yorkville never bothered to weigh Joan. According to an explosive report by TMZ, a staff member told the New York agency that they made a mistake while inputting the proper dosage into the computer and that Joan was given double the dosage of what is safe for a woman of her size. Not only did they screw up the medication, but the report also alleges that if Joan had been as closely monitored as a patient under Propofol is supposed to be, then staffers would have realized she was starting to die right in front of them! Instead, by the time the two doctors and team of nurses in the room realized what was happening, she was already in full cardiac arrest.
While Melissa is glad to learn something from the agency's investigation, it only adds to her overall feeling that her mother's death was unnecessary. Melissa told TMZ that she is "outraged by the misconduct and mismanagement" that the Yorkville clinic has shown. There's no doubt that this report has only fueled her mission to hold whomever directly contributed to her mother's death fully accountable for their careless actions.
Do you think overdosing Joan on Propofol was the only error that was made by staff members, or do you think this case will actually get even sadder as more information finally comes out?
Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.
