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Woman Dies, Ignored, on Waiting Room Floor

Brooklyn hospital staff overlooks ER patient for over an hour

By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff

Posted Jul 2, 2008 7:22 AM CDT

(Newser) – Recently uncovered surveillance footage shows a woman collapsing in a Brooklyn psychiatric hospital, then lying on the floor for more than an hour while hospital staff ignored her. Esmin Green, 49, had been waiting for treatment for almost 24 hours when she collapsed at 5:32am and lay convulsing on the floor. She stopped moving at 6:07am, and was found dead at 6:35.

The hospital has suspended or fired six employees, CNN reports. Records appear to have been falsified to cover up the incident, saying Green went to the bathroom at 6am, and was “sitting quietly” at 6:20. The tape and records were found by the New York Civil Liberties Union, which is suing for negligence. “Look, I saw the film like everybody else, and I was—horrified is much too nice a word,” said Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

[Images (3)]

[Videos (1)]

This combination of 6 still photos taken from a video shows the progression of events Thursday, June 19, 2008 in the psychiatric ward of the Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn, N.Y. (AP Photo/New York Civil Liberties Union)

Esmin Green lies face down on the floor in the psychiatric ward of the Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn, N.Y., Thursday, June 19, 2008. (AP Photo/New York Civil Liberties Union)

Esmin Green, 49, lies face down on the floor in the psychiatric ward of the Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn, N.Y., as a security guard wheels over in his chair to see her Thursday, June 19, 2008. (AP Photo/New York Civil Liberties Union)

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Woman Dies, Ignored, on Waiting Room Floor