The health clinic in New York City where comedienne Joan Rivers went into cardiac arrest in late August, and subsequently died, has been found of having several serious deficiencies, a report by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services says.

Joan Rivers
Rivers died unexpectedly aged 81 this past September

On August 28th, Rivers was hospitalized for going into cardiac and respiratory arrest after stopping breathing during a minor throat procedure at the clinic. Nearly a week after being placed into a medically induced coma, her grieving family decided to take her off a life support machine on September 4th, she passed away shortly after, aged 81.

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The detailed report concluded that Yorkville Endoscopy "failed to ensure that patient care services are provided in a manner that protects the health and safety of all patients." But the most serious mistake the clinic made was when the doctors treating the iconic comedienne "failed to identify deteriorating vital signs and provide timely intervention during the procedure."

"Our client, Melissa Rivers, is terribly disappointed to learn of the multiple failings on the part of medical personnel and the clinic as evidenced by the CMS report," Joan's daughter's attorneys Jeffrey B. Bloom and Ben Rubinowitz said in a statement released Monday. "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. Moving forward, Ms. Rivers will direct her efforts towards ensuring that what happened to her mother will not occur again with any other patient."

Melissa is reportedly planning to file a multimillion dollar wrongful death suit against Yorkville Endoscopy, and the doctors involved in performing the procedure in question.

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The New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner concluded that Joan's cause of death was "a predictable complication" during a routine medical procedure that resulted in a cut-off of her oxygen supply which in turn led to brain damage.


Melissa [R] is filing a wrongful death suit against the clinic that caused Joan [L] to go into cardiac arrest

Yorkville Endoscopy have since released a statement, responding to the report:

"From the outset of the Aug. 28 incident described in the CMS Report, Yorkville has been fully cooperative and collaborative with all regulatory and accreditation agencies. In response to the statement of deficiencies, Yorkville immediately submitted and implemented a plan of correction that addressed all issues raised. The regulatory agencies are currently reviewing the corrective plan of action and have been in regular contact with Yorkville. In addition, the physicians involved in the direct care and treatment referenced in the report no longer practice or provide services at Yorkville. Yorkville will continue its commitment to complying with all standards and accreditation requirements."