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

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. (More New York City stories.)

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