A federal report has claimed the New York clinic where Joan Rivers stopped breathing made a number of errors during her medical procedure.
The damning report released on Monday (10.11.14) stated that Yorkville Endoscopy "failed to ensure that patient care services are provided in a manner that protects the health and safety of all patients" and several procedures were not performed correctly when Joan went in for a routine throat procedure on August 28.
According to the filed documents, the medical team at the facility failed to notice the 81-year-old comedienne’s blood-oxygen level was dropping below the normal level in the 15 minutes before she stopped breathing and inconsistently documented the amount of the sedative Propofol she was administered before the operation and did not weigh her before giving her the drug.
The report also claims an ENT doctor without privileges to operate at the clinic was allowed to perform procedures on Rivers, and a member of staff took a photo of Joan on her phone while she was sedated and awaiting the procedure.
In conclusion, the document stated the biggest error made by the physicians caring for Joan was that they "failed to identify deteriorating vital signs and provide timely intervention during the procedure".
It was confirmed that Joan was successfully resuscitated at the clinic before being moved to Mount Sinai Hospital where she was placed in a medically induced coma after suffering a cardiac arrest.
Joan never regained conciousness and her daughter Melissa Rivers made the decision to take her off life support on September 4.
Speaking through lawyers, Melissa admitted she was outraged by the findings in the report.
Attorneys Ben Rubinowitz and Jeffrey Bloom said in a statement: "Our client, Melissa Rivers, is terribly disappointed to learn of the multiple failings on the part of the medical personnel and the clinic as evidenced by the CMS report."
Law firm Gair, Gair, Conason, Steigman, MacKauf, Bloom & Robinowitz added: "As any of us would be, Ms. Rivers is outraged by the misconduct and mismanagement now shown to have occurred before, during and after the procedure."
Report says physicians ‘failed’ in care of Joan Rivers
