Top 3 Fascinating Celebrity Medical Malpractice Cases

Julie Andrew’s voice

In 1997, Julie Andrew’s learned she had non-cancerous nodules in her throat. After undergoing surgery at Mt. Sinai Hospital to remove the nodules, Andrews claimed she could no longer sing professionally and filed suit against the hospital and two physicians. Andrews claimed she was not informed of the potential complications including permanent hoarseness, irreversible loss of vocal quality and other complications that could impact her ability to sing. According to Andrews, the surgery caused hoarseness, permanent vocal cord damage and other complications that have left her unable to sing and continue her career as a musical performer. The suit was settled in 2000 and the terms are confidential.

Joan Rivers’ death

Just days after undergoing a routine endoscopy in 2014, Joan Rivers died of brain damage due to lack of oxygen when she stopped breathing during the procedure. Her daughter filed a medical malpractice suit alleging the doctors performed unauthorized medical procedures and failed to act when her vital signs deteriorated. Specifically, the suit alleged the doctors mishandled the endoscopy, performed a laryngoscopy without consent and ignored concerns from an anesthesiologist about Rivers’ ability to breathe. The suit was settled in 2016 for a confidential amount.

Quaid twins’ drug overdose

In 2008, Dennis Quaid’s two week old twins were undergoing treatment for staph infections at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center when they were given the wrong dose of Heparin, a blood thinning medication. The twins were given 1000 times the recommended dose, leaving them vulnerable to extreme bleeding. When the Quaids called to check on their children that evening, no one told them about the error and, instead, said the babies were fine. They were not informed of the incident until the next morning when they arrived at the hospital to find their children in critical condition. The children made a full recovery and the case was settled with the hospital for $750,000.

If you believe you or a loved one has been harmed by medical malpractice, let the skilled medical malpractice attorneys and lawyers at Lowenthal & Abrams help. Contact us now for a free consultation at 888-979-7298.