In 2008 49-year-old Esmin Green died an excruciating death on the floor of a waiting room at Kings County Hospital. The shocking story drew national attention thanks to a security video in which Green slumped and fell to the ground, was ignored by two guards and a doctor who walk by, and finally kicked by a nurse who checks on her (after she had already died from blood clots). In 2009 the city settled with Green's family for $2 million dollars and now, another two years later, hospital workers are being prosecuted for allegedly trying to cover up the death by falsifying records.
Nurses Who Walked By Dying Woman Face Charges
Kings County Patient Allegedly Attacked Staffers
A nurse's assistant was brutally attacked while tending to a patient at Kings County Hospital—and now another patient is in custody. Robert Rush, who was in the psychiatric unit, was charged with assault for attacking Sandra Douglas and two other people. The Daily News reports that on Tuesday "Rush, who weighs more than 300 pounds, walked into a room where Douglas, 49, was attending to another patient about 5:30 a.m. and clocked her in the head. When she fell, he repeatedly kicked and hit her, witnesses said." Douglas's son, who was at his mother's bedside in intensive care, spoke to staffers about the attack, "He was just beating on her, banging her head on the floor. It took four people to get him off her." On Sunday, Rush also assaulted two staffers who tried to stop him from attacking another patient, but wasn't charged. He also told NY1, "It shouldn't happen. You should be able to go to work and know that there is security in a facility like that." The Health and Hospitals Corporation says it's investigating the incident; Kings County's psych unit is also where patient Esmin Green died in a waiting room, after waiting for over a day to be seen.
Signs Of Kings County Hospital Staff Cover-Up In Patient's Death
A year after a 49-year-old woman died in the psychiatric waiting room at Kings County Hospital, the Department of Investigations has issued a report that says, "Discrepancies were uncovered that called into question the accuracy of the medical records created by certain Kings County Hospital doctors." In other words, hospital staffers—doctors and nurses—falsified records and lied to investigators about the care that Esmin Green received.
City Settles For $2 Million In Death Of Neglected Patient
The city agreed to a $2 million settlement with the family of Esmin Green, a woman who died after being ignored in a waiting room at Kings County Hospital's psychiatric ward. Green had been waiting for almost a day last July until she received medical attention which came too late. Her decline—falling off the seating and writhing on the floor until she was lifeless— was captured on surveillance video, which showed a number of staffers ignore her; they only acted after another patient alerted them.
More Than Neglect in Kings County Patient's Death
The City Medical Examiner released the results of Esmin Green's autopsy; and King's County Hospital treatment, or lack thereof, of the dead woman may have had more to do with her death than callous neglect. The M.E. found that Green collapsed after blood clots that formed in her legs as she sat in the hospital's psychiatric ward waiting room migrated to her lungs and killed her.
Neglected Patient's Family Plans $25 Million Lawsuit
The 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.
Mourning, Questions at Neglected Patient's Funeral
Yesterday, friends, family, and others gathered for the funeral of 49-year-old Esmin Green, whose death in a Kings County Hospital emergency room was captured on surveillance video. Green, who had been waiting for almost 24 hours for medical attention, had collapsed onto the floor; though many staffers saw her on the floor, nothing was done until a nurse (who kicked her gently) realized she was unconscious an hour later.
City Will Pay Funeral Expenses for Woman Left to Die in Hospital Waiting Room
After being rocked by the death of Esmin Green, a psychiatric patient who died at Kings County Hospital, the city announced it would pay for her funeral expenses. A video showed Green waiting in the waiting room for almost 24 hours, collapsing to the floor with numerous staffers ignoring her. Mayor Bloomberg said developer Forest City Ratner will fly Green's relatives from Jamaica to NYC and back, as well as fly the body back to Jamaica. Though six staffers have been fired, Green's daughter told the Daily News, "I'm going to put it in the hands of American law. But I can tell you this: That hospital, it needs to be closed down."

