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Neglected Patient's Family Plans $25 Million Lawsuit

2008_07_greene.jpgThe daughter of the woman who was neglected in a hospital waiting room and died after being ignored by staffers has will sue the hospital, city and city's hospital agency for $25 million.

Last week, a video revealed that 49-year-old Esmin Green had been sitting in the waiting room of Kings County Hospital's psychiatric ward emergency area for almost 24 hours. Around 5:30 a.m., she collapsed on the floor, and while staffers saw her there, they did nothing, and Green later died. It also appeared hospital staff falsified records, claiming Green had been alive during the times she was actually unconscious on the floor.

Green's daughter Tecia Harrison said, "What I want is justice. Whoever committed a criminal act should be held responsible," adding, "This place where my mommy was supposed to receive care was a place that she died. This place that was supposed to protect her was a place that she lost her life."

The head of the city's Health and Hospitals Corporation Alan Aviles said, "We failed Esmin Green and believe her family deserves fair and just compensation...We remain devastated by the tragic death of Esmin Green and are deeply sorry for the pain it has caused her family." Kings County Hospital has promised reforms, but assembly members want Mayor Bloomberg to "appoint a health care delivery review panel."

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Comments [rss]

  • laurentenney

    VIGIL FOR MS. GREEN 7/25/06

    FOR DETAILS

    www.theopalproject.org/vigil/h....

    WE THE PEOPLE

    ###

  • nik13

    So, some Jamaicans are getting a free vacations in NYC. I bet a few will decide to stay behind, despite having a paid for trip home. Eventually, they all will sue city over something.

    No Snoopy. It's Haiti lite.

  • NannyState

    They need to amend the tort laws in New york State so that you cannot put any face amount on a lawsuit. Just sue for negligence and wrongful death and let a jury decide the compensatory and punitive damages. This just looks greedy and crass and it's got LAWYER written all over it.

  • Snoopy

    Zimbabawe.

  • babyhitler

    Tecia Harrison said, "What I want is justice". Replace "Justice" with "money" and this story makes sense.

  • Dr Pigeon

    Why was it considered in poor taste for Geraldo Rivera to show pictures of the dead model and yet we're all okay with every news source across the city featuring these photos? Are we allowing this indecency because she is mentally ill?

  • Georgina

    This poor woman had a background of mental illness, but was all alone in NY while supporting family in Jamaica. No one in her family was concerned enough to ask her to quit working, come back home, take it easy, poor mother.

    The hospital staff should be held accountable, but suing for $25 million, how is that getting justice? They'll get $2.5 million, the lawyers will take their per-hour chunk, and they'll end up with $750,000. Bet.

  • MT

    Jeez. I missed a part of the story. Isn't that why we ask questions?

  • GM

    The evidence that anyone is criminal is not necessarily there. This women was obviously pretty ill to be sitting there and then fall unconscious and die. There's a big gray area whether or not anyone is criminally negligible, as all the people who witnessed her were not doctors. They ought to be all fired for sure.

    If someone gets into a car accident on the side of the road and you drive by and ignore it, unless you are a doctor, you cannot be charged.

  • likesrudylikesbooty

    "Although the event is tragic 25 mil seems excessive. Was that amount calculated by lost future income?"

    I'm guessing it would be mostly punitive damages, The evidence is pretty damning for a slam dunk case. Watching the local news, it seems the usual cast of lawyer characters have already lined up for this one.

  • brooklyngeorge

    #5, I'm not sure how many "cars and iphones and stuff" you can actually buy after the attorneys take their share of the final amount.

  • robingee

    Don't say "should of" it's "should have."

    Also sue that worthless lady in beige on the bottom left.

  • JRod5417

    That's because they were in Jamaica, MT. ;-P

    Seriously though, even if the kids were not in the picture, anyone in their right mind would sue the City and the Hospital for the criminal and negligent acts in not only failing to render medical treatment to this poor woman who was clearly in distress, but then falsifying records to cover up their misfeasance.

  • Jen Chung

    I mentioned that Green supported her children in Jamaica and that her family was being flown to NYC for the funeral.

    As for families suing after these incidents, I think they rather have the family member alive.

  • Steven

    They can sue for $25 million, but how much will they actually get is the big question?

  • MT

    Actually, it does JRod. And thanks for the back up eyekantspell.

    Sometimes people do legitimately just ask questions. I hadn't seen an coverage of this woman that have mentioned any kind of family background before now.

  • JacqueMehoff

    that's a psych waiting room so obviously the other patients are not well and would probably be ignored by the staff anyway. you see they're all in gowns or hospital attire.

    what about the security guard seen on the rolling office chair? what was his job?

    what's the purpose of the hedge fund investors suing the hedge fund, I mean they're millionaires so they don't need the money that they'll spend on Ipods, rolls royces and lear jets anyway, right??

  • eyekantspel

    I don't think MT was trying to blame the daughter for not being there, just asking the question.

    The real justice here is punishing the "health care" workers who allowed this to happen on their watch.

    Charge them criminally. Put their faces on the front page of the papers. Let them feel public shame and humiliation for their disgusting failure to do their job.

    Oh, and not just the workers --- I'd really like the story on the woman who was pictured sitting in the same room, the entire time, who didn't lift a finger to help, or notify anyone.

  • JRod5417

    "At 31, Harrison is the eldest of the six children Green left behind in Jamaica when she moved to the United States in 2000 to find work."

    Does that answer your question, MT?

  • eyekantspel

    Wouldn't it be nice if the family won millions of dollars in a lawsuit, and then turned around and donated that money in her name to provide better health care facilities for the community?

    I can see virtue in that result.

    Of course, the more likely result is that the money taken out of the system to settle this claim will be used by the family to buy cars and iphones and stuff.

    I don't want to be insensitive to the feelings of her family, but it seems most of the time the purpose of these lawsuits is less about justice and more about cashing in your lottery ticket for winning the dead family member jackpot.

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