The death of Joan Rivers stunned not only her family and loyal fans, but people of all ages. If you’re a little older, you certainly remember Joan’s early career and the envelopes she pushed in her comedy. Younger audiences who are into fashion will recall her witty commentary on the hit show Fashion Police.
In what should have been a routine scoping of her throat, the comedienne stopped breathing after doctors made a risky decision to scalpel polyp-like growths on her vocal cords. According to a source to the NY Post:
The biopsy’s incision triggered a seizing of Rivers’ vocal cords, blocking the beloved, 81-year-old comedian’s breathing entirely and leading to the brain damage that ultimately caused her death.
The source went on to say:
A biopsy is throat surgery, and at her age should have been done in the hospital
With this information, Joan’s daughter Melissa is filing a lawsuit against the outpatient clinic that treated her mother.
She claims gross medical malpractice, and contend the doctors should have performed a tracheotomy after they noticed she wasn’t breathing.
Commenting to Us Weekly, Melissa Rivers explains:
Filing this lawsuit was one of the most difficult decisions I’ve ever had to make. What ultimately guided me was my unwavering belief that no family should ever have to go through what my mother, Cooper [Joan’s grandson] and I have been through.