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| Michael
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| FRIDAY
25/02/2005 14:59:12 |
| | Dead
patient's family to sue Jackson and
hospital
The
family of a woman who died after being moved out of a trauma
room to accommodate the ailing Michael Jackson plans to sue
both the hospital and the star, it emerged
today. |
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Manuela Gomez Ruiz, 74, was
transferred out of the main trauma room at the Marian Medical
Centre in Santa Maria, California, when Jackson was rushed in
suffering from "flu-like symptoms" last week.
Her
family claims she was taken off a machine ventilator and her
breathing was instead assisted manually by a
handpump.
Mrs Ruiz was being treated after having a
heart attack but suffered two more that day before she
died.
Her daughter-in-law, Anna Ruiz, told ABC News she
saw Jackson come into the emergency unit.
"He walked
in," she said. "When I saw him, he was walking
unassisted."
Mrs Ruiz`s daughter Maria Elena Ortiz was
also in the hospital and objected when her mother was
moved.
"Why does she have to be moved if he`s coming in
for a stomach flu?" she said.
"I said, `My mother just
had a heart attack and I think it`s more critical than a
stomach flu`. They didn`t say anything."
The family
claims the chaos caused by Jackson`s arrival distracted staff.
They said equipment had to be crammed into the smaller room
and they were limited to two visitors at a time.
Those
visitors could not then leave because the hospital restricted
movement in the corridors when Jackson arrived, the family
claims.
Relatives allege that the hospital`s policy
"needs to be changed" if a patient with flu can take
precedence over someone with a heart attack. They have hired a
lawyer to sue the hospital and the star.
Jackson`s
publicist Raymone Bain issued a statement saying: "Michael
Jackson sends his condolences to the family of the
deceased.
"However, it is outrageous that Michael
Jackson`s name would be invoked into a situation of which he
had no authority or control. It appears that ABC is deliberate
in its attempt to circumvent Michael Jackson from receiving a
fair trial."
Jury selection in Jackson`s child
molestation trial was delayed while the singer recovered from
the flu. Opening arguments are scheduled to begin in the Santa
Maria court on Monday.
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