Brain Injury Attorney Blog

The family of a New Jersey man has filed a wrongful death suit this week, naming the hospital, six doctors and the drug company, Bristol Myers Squibb. The relatives of a man whose chemist wife is accused of poisoning him with thallium filed the wrongful death lawsuit against the pharmaceutical company where she worked and the hospital where he died. The victim's family likely consulted with a good wrongful death lawyer in their area to help them with this serious lawsuit.

Alex Wang, 39, died in January at University Medical Center in Princeton, NJ. He was admitted to the hospital because he was experiencing abdominal pain and lack of feeling in his hands and feet. Court documents contain a note that a doctor placed in his chart stating that Wang thought he was being poisioned by his wife, Heidi Li. Li works as a chemist for Bristol Myers Squibb. It appears that Li obtained thallium, an odorless, highly toxic metal, from her lab and proceeded to poison Wang at their home and even in his hospital room. Thallium is a radioactive substance which is employed to diagnose coronary artery disease but if used improperly can cause a slow and painful death.

The lawsuit alleges that Li obtained the highly toxic drug from Bristol-Myers Squibb, which has several research sites in New Jersey. Court documents claim the company failed to impose rigorous safety and security controls on dangerous drugs like thallium to guard against unauthorized access. The wrongful death lawsuit also states that Wang not only told doctors he suspected he was being poisioned and requested a urine test, but that he and his wife were expecting to be divorced. Rather than taking Wang's complaints seriously, as any hospital should, the doctors allowed Li unrestricted access to Wang's hospital room until he was found dead.

Li didn't really come off as a stable, caring wife to doctors at the hospital. A note in Wang's chart said, " Wife should be monitored if comes to visit and patient shouldn't be left alone." It is very sad that the patient in this case was telling doctors about his suspicions and was blatantly ignored. This mistake made by the hospital staff unfortunately caused Wang his life. Li was formally charged with giving Wang thallium over a two-month period until he died in the hospital. She has pleaded not guilty to murder and is being held on $4.1 million bail.

When a family member dies at the hands of another human being who you are supposed to trust, it can be very devistating. We put our lives in the hands of hospital staff and doctors and we expect them to take care of us. Most importantly, we expect them to listen to our symptoms and needs as a patient. If someone you know has died at the hands of a doctor and you feel the doctor has caused death, you may be able to file a wrongful death suit against them. If you or one of your family members needs to file a wrongful death suit, call one of the wrongful death lawyers at The Mace Firm for a free consultation.

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