Medical Malpractice Lawsuit In The Death Of Joan Rivers Now Settles

The medical malpractice lawsuit connected to the death of actress and comedian Joan Rivers has been settled by her immediate family, lawyers revealed. Almost two years after her passing, the case filed against doctors who failed to act during a routinary endoscopy is a chapter that can be finally closed.

CBS News reported that legal counsels of River's family expressed gratitude for the solving of the case but refused to provide any more details on the settlement. Lawyers Ben Rubinowitz and Jeff Bloom said the incident has highlighted that such negligence should never happen to any patient again.

Rivers' daughter, Melissa, considered the settlement of the lawsuit as her way of being able to "put the legal aspects of my mother's death behind me and ensure that those culpable for her death have accepted responsibility for their actions quickly and without equivocation."

Died From Cardiac Arrest

According to USA Today, Rivers went into cardiac arrest while undergoing a medical procedure for her throat at the Yorkville Endoscopy. She was unconscious for a week then died later in a hospital on Sept. 2, 2014.

The younger Rivers, as per CBS News, filed a malpractice lawsuit in 2015 saying that doctors of her mom performed a procedure (laryngoscopy) which was not authorised and even snapped a selfie with her. They, however, failed to act on the deteriorating vital signs of the patient.

Real Cause Of Death

The family lamented the tragedy that happened to Rivers. Investigation on the case revealed that the actress died because of "anoxic encephalopathy (brain damage) due to hypoxic arrest (a decrease in oxygen to the brain) during surgery." 

ABC News said a statement from Yorkville Endoscopy revealed that the party already settled the pending case "to avoid protracted litigation." It vowed to continue providing quality healthcare to all its patients.