1. On Aug. 28, 2014, Ms. Rivers was admitted to Yorkville Endoscopy for an elective procedure. A laryngospasm caused her to struggle to breathe under sedation, leading to cardiac arrest. Ms. Rivers’ brain died due to lack of oxygenated blood. In October 2014, a New York medical examiner concluded Ms. Rivers’ “death resulted from a predictable complication of medical therapy.”
2. Melissa Rivers engaged the law firm Gair, Gair, Conason, Steigman, Mackauf, Bloom and Rubinowitz to investigate Yorkville Endoscopy in October 2014.
3. A CMS inquiry found a number of errors in the treatment of the comedienne. The report, released in November 2014, indicated issues including failure to record Ms. Rivers’ weight prior to sedation, late identification of deteriorating vital signs, failure to obtain the patient’s informed consent for all procedures performed, allowing an unprivileged physician to care for Ms. Rivers at the center and failure to abide by the center’s cell phone policy.
4. The endoscopy center lost its American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities accreditation early this year. CMS initially planned to revoke the center’s certification, but has now granted Yorkville Endoscopy until March 2 to comply with requested changes.
5. “Our client Melissa Rivers couldn’t be more disappointed and disheartened by this outrageous medical conduct,” said attorney Ben Rubinowitz, according to the NBC News report. “Our goal is to make sure real change comes about in regulation of ambulatory surgery centers to ensure patient safety and health.”
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