Opening statements in Michael Jackson's trial begin on Monday

Manuela Gomez Ruiz, 74, was moved out of the room at the California hospital after Mr Jackson arrived suffering from "flu-like symptoms".

Mrs Ruiz, who was being treated for a massive heart attack, died later that day, the family told ABC News.

The hospital said it was confident of the level of care it gave patients.

The Marian Medical Centre in Santa Maria expressed its deepest sympathy to Mrs Ruiz's family, adding that patient privacy laws prevented it from commenting on individual patients' care, the news channel reported.

A spokesman for Mr Jackson said the pop star sent his condolences to the family, but added that it was "outrageous" that Mr Jackson's name should be involved, as the situation was beyond his authority and control.

'Distracted staff'

Mr Jackson was taken to hospital as the jury was being selected for his trial on charges of child abuse. Proceedings were delayed for a week as he recovered.

Mrs Ruiz's daughter-in-law, Anna Ruiz, told the news channel that she saw Mr Jackson come into the hospital.

"He walked in," she said. "When I saw him, he was walking unassisted."

She says Mrs Ruiz was taken off a ventilator and her breathing was manually assisted with a handpump during the move.

The grandmother had two more heart attacks that day before she died.

The family says the chaos caused by Mr Jackson's arrival distracted staff, and that only two visitors were allowed into Mrs Ruiz's new room at a time, limiting the amount of time the family could spend with her.