Joan Rivers Death: Clinic’s Medical Director Steps Down Amid Allegations

The probe into the death of Joan Rivers has taken a new turn as the medical director at the clinic where she died has now been asked to step down.

The board of Yorkville Endoscopy asked Dr. Lawrence Cohen to step down from his post and resign, ABC News reported Friday.

New details revealed that Cohen allowed an unauthorized doctor to take part in a procedure Rivers was having on August 28 when she stopped breathing. Cohen was identified as Rivers’s gastroenterologist, who brought in an unidentified ear, nose, and throat specialist to her operating room during a routine procedure.

Clinic personnel said they assumed the specialist was Rivers’s makeup artist, but the specialist stepped in and examined the comedian’s voice box before and after the gastroenterologist performed the procedure. The specialist was not cleared to work in the clinic, which is required to approve credentials of any physician who takes part in procedures.

Reports have said that Joan’s family plans to file a million lawsuit against the clinic, with the Globe reporting that the suit could reach $100 million.

The size of the lawsuit may be unusually large, but experts that reflects the earning power that Joan Rivers had, even at 81.

“Normally an 81-year-old widow with grown children is not expected to be working,” said lawyer Edward Steinberg. “However, she was still a very big earner and in otherwise good health. There could be millions at stake.”

The clinic has refuted reports that it allowed the specialist to conduct “a type of biopsy on the vocal cords.” It also denied reports that Rivers was under general anesthesia when something went wrong.

“General anesthesia has never been administered at Yorkville Endoscopy,” it said. “The type of sedation used at Yorkville Endoscopy is monitored anesthesia care. Our anesthesiologists utilize light to moderate sedation.”

The family of Joan Rivers has not officially announced whether they plan a lawsuit against Yorkville Endoscopy.

[Image via stereoboard.com]