5 Shocking Mistakes That Led To Joan Rivers’ Death: Was She Killed?

The enduring question of "Was Joan Rivers killed?" remains a powerful, if sensationalized, query a decade after her passing. As of December 11, 2025, the official answer is a definitive "No"—she was not killed in a criminal sense. However, the circumstances surrounding her death on September 4, 2014, were so fraught with medical negligence and procedural errors that her family filed a wrongful death lawsuit, confirming that her passing was preventable and tragically unnecessary. This article dives deep into the official findings, the shocking mistakes made by the medical team, and the subsequent legal battle that exposed the truth behind the comedy legend's final moments. The official cause of death was ruled by the New York City Medical Examiner’s Office as "anoxic encephalopathy due to hypoxic arrest" during a medical procedure, a medical term for brain damage caused by a lack of oxygen. The federal investigation that followed revealed a series of devastating medical errors, leading to the closure of the clinic and a major malpractice settlement.

The Life and Legacy of Joan Rivers: A Biographical Profile

Joan Rivers was a pioneering figure in comedy, known for her sharp wit, no-holds-barred humor, and relentless work ethic that spanned over 50 years. Her life was defined by breaking barriers in a male-dominated industry and reinventing herself across television, film, and stage.

• Birth Name: Joan Alexandra Molinsky
• Born: June 8, 1933, in Brooklyn, New York
• Died: September 4, 2014, in New York City, New York
• Age at Death: 81
• Spouse: Edgar Rosenberg (m. 1965; d. 1987)
• Child: Melissa Rivers
• Career Highlights:
  • Broke the glass ceiling for female comedians, often cited as a major influence.
  • First female guest host of *The Tonight Show* in 1983.
  • Hosted *The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers* (1986).
  • Co-hosted E!'s *Fashion Police* (2010–2014).
  • Won a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album (2015, posthumously).
  • Wrote 12 best-selling books.

Her career was marked by resilience, particularly after the tragic suicide of her husband, Edgar Rosenberg, which led to a period of professional and personal rebuilding. Her final years saw a massive resurgence in popularity, making her sudden death even more shocking to her millions of fans.

The Procedure, the Complications, and the Shocking Medical Errors

The events of August 28, 2014, at the Yorkville Endoscopy clinic in Manhattan, are the central focus of the controversy surrounding Joan Rivers’ death. What was intended as a routine, minor procedure quickly spiraled into a fatal medical emergency. The comedian had scheduled an upper gastrointestinal endoscopy to investigate a persistent raspy voice and sore throat. This procedure involves inserting a flexible tube with a light and camera (an endoscope) down the throat to examine the esophagus, stomach, and part of the small intestine.

The Five Critical Mistakes That Led to Hypoxic Arrest

A subsequent federal investigation by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the New York State Department of Health concluded that a series of five critical medical errors constituted negligence and directly caused her death. These errors are the reason the question of whether she was "killed" persists, as her death was entirely preventable.

1. The Unscheduled, Unauthorized Biopsy: The most egregious error was the performance of an unscheduled, unauthorized laryngoscopy and biopsy of her vocal cords. This procedure was performed by her personal ear, nose, and throat (ENT) doctor, Dr. Gwen Korovin, who was present but was not officially credentialed to perform surgical procedures at the Yorkville Endoscopy clinic.
2. Failure to Recognize Deterioration: The investigation found that the medical staff, including the gastroenterologist, Dr. Lawrence Cohen, failed to recognize and respond to Rivers' deteriorating vital signs. Her blood pressure and heart rate were dropping, which are clear indicators of a problem.
3. Excessive Propofol Dosage: There were allegations, later detailed in the malpractice lawsuit, that the anesthesia administered to Rivers was excessive. The combination of the sedative Propofol and the unauthorized procedure contributed to her respiratory distress.
4. Improper Documentation and Photo Op: The CMS report cited a failure to maintain proper medical records. Furthermore, there were reports that Dr. Cohen took a picture of Rivers while she was under anesthesia, a highly unprofessional and distracting act that highlighted the clinic's lax standards.
5. Delayed Emergency Response: As Rivers' oxygen saturation levels plummeted, leading to a respiratory and then cardiac arrest, the medical team's response was delayed and inadequate. The delay in calling 911 and transferring her to a hospital was cited as a critical factor in the severity of her brain damage.

The combination of the unauthorized biopsy—which likely caused swelling in her throat, restricting airflow—and the failure to monitor her oxygen levels resulted in a hypoxic arrest. Rivers was rushed to Mount Sinai Hospital, where she remained in a medically induced coma for a week before passing away on September 4, 2014.

The Aftermath: Investigation, Lawsuit, and Lasting Change

The immediate consequence of Joan Rivers’ death was a massive public and regulatory backlash against the Yorkville Endoscopy clinic and the involved physicians.

The Federal Investigation and Clinic Closure

The federal investigation found that the clinic was in violation of several critical safety standards. The findings were damning, concluding that the clinic’s practices were negligent and directly responsible for the tragedy. In the wake of the investigation, the Yorkville Endoscopy center lost its accreditation, and the facility was ultimately forced to close its doors. The state medical board also took action against the involved physicians. Dr. Lawrence Cohen, the medical director who performed the initial endoscopy, resigned from the clinic and had his license temporarily suspended. Dr. Gwen Korovin, the ENT specialist, was investigated for the unauthorized procedure but ultimately retained her medical license, a point of ongoing controversy.

The Medical Malpractice and Wrongful Death Lawsuit

In January 2015, Joan Rivers’ daughter, Melissa Rivers, filed a medical malpractice and wrongful death lawsuit against the doctors and the Yorkville Endoscopy clinic. The lawsuit sought to hold those responsible accountable for the "careless and negligent" treatment that led to her mother’s death. The central claims of the lawsuit were:

• Failure to obtain informed consent for the unauthorized procedures.
• Failure to maintain proper patient records.
• Failure to manage Rivers' airway and vital signs as her condition worsened.
• Failure to provide immediate, life-saving care.

The case was settled out of court in May 2016 for an undisclosed amount. Melissa Rivers stated that the settlement was not about money, but about ensuring that the medical mistakes were acknowledged and that no other family would have to endure a similar tragedy. She expressed her outrage at the mistakes found in the federal report, emphasizing that the death was entirely preventable.

The Final Verdict on "Was Joan Rivers Killed?"

To answer the core question: Joan Rivers was not murdered or intentionally killed. The official ruling remains a death caused by complications from a medical procedure. However, the subsequent investigations and the successful medical malpractice lawsuit established that her death was a result of gross medical negligence and a series of avoidable errors. The narrative of her being "killed" persists because, in the eyes of her family and the public, the incompetence and procedural recklessness of the medical team effectively ended her life prematurely. Her passing became a high-profile case study used by medical ethics and malpractice lawyers to highlight the critical importance of patient safety, adherence to protocol, and proper credentialing in outpatient surgical centers. The legacy of her death is a renewed call for accountability in the medical field.