N.Y. Clinic That Treated Joan Rivers Made Mistakes, Federal Investigation Finds
Image by Getty Images
The New York City clinic that treated comedian Joan Rivers made several errors, including not noticing her deteriorating vital signs during surgery, according to a federal investigation.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released its report on Monday.
Rivers, 81, died on Sept. 4, a week after being rushed to Manhattan’s Mount Sinai Hospital after her heart stopped during throat surgery at the Yorkville Endoscopy clinic. Doctors at the hospital put her in an induced coma from which she never awoke.
According to the report, Rivers’ vital signs were deteriorating for at least 15 minutes before cardiopulmonary resuscitation began, The New York Times reported. The report also said that Dr. Lawrence Cohen, who served as medical director of the clinic, took pictures on his cellphone of an unconscious Rivers on the operating table with her ear, nose and throat doctor. Cohen has since left the clinic.
Rivers was identified as Patient #1 in the report, according to the Times. The comedian and talk show host was at the clinic for a routine procedure to examine her throat.
Rivers’ daughter, Melissa, said in a statement issued by her attorneys that she was “outraged by the misconduct and mismanagement now shown to have occurred before, during and after the procedure.”
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
