This past week, KDVR and CBS Denver reported that the family of an 18-year-old Colorado girl filed a lawsuit against a doctor and the nurse anesthetist who administered anesthesia to her prior to cosmetic surgery.
On August 1st, Emmalyn Nguyen went in for routine breast augmentation surgery with Dr. Geoffrey Kim of Greenwood Village, Colorado. The procedure took place at Kim’s office, Colorado Aesthetics and Plastic Surgery.
The Boulder County lawsuit filed by David Woodruff, a Partner with Denver Trial Lawyers ®, alleges that nurse-anesthetist Rex Meeker started Nguyen on general anesthesia, but that the entire medical team left Emmalyn unobserved while she was under general anesthesia for as long as 15 minutes. During that time, she stopped breathing and went into cardiac arrest, which was not noticed by the medical team until Ms. Nguyen was found blue and in full cardiac arrest.
The lawsuit further alleges that upon finding Nguyen in cardiac arrest, the medical team, including Dr. Kim, Mr. Meeker, and two nurses, performed CPR to resuscitate her. Her heartbeat was regained momentarily, but then stopped again so the team performed CPR again. Ultimately, Nguyen’s heartbeat and breathing was regained, but she never regained consciousness.
The lawsuit finally alleges that Dr. Kim, Mr. Meeker and the staff of Colorado Aesthetic & Plastic Surgery did not call 911 to request emergency medical transport for up to 5 ½ hours after Nguyen went into cardiac arrest. When Nguyen was finally transported to the hospital, emergency department physicians confirmed that she had suffered a massive anoxic brain injury due to lack of oxygen. She has been left in a permanent semi-conscious, vegetative state. She now requires 24-hour care and is in a long-term care facility in Denver.
This is not the first lawsuit brought against nurse Rex Meeker. In 2009, a man sued Meeker after his wife died due to brain damage suffered during another breast enhancement surgery where Meeker provided the sedative.
David Woodruff and Denver Trial Lawyers ® are honored to represent Emmalyn Nguyen and her family following this tragedy.
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