Man sues for lost finger

Published: Nov. 18, 2007 at 10:52 AM
Order reprints
NEW YORK, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- A New York man is suing Bellevue Hospital for losing his finger and then charging him $3,000 in medical expenses, The New York Post reported Sunday.

Efraim Rivera, 30, had his finger cut off last February in an argument in Brooklyn. Police and paramedics packed the finger on ice and took it and Rivera to Bellevue, which is noted for surgical reattachment, the Post reported.

About an hour later, a nurse told Rivera they lost the finger and asked him to sign a waiver saying he no longer wanted the finger, said the lawsuit filed last week in Brooklyn Supreme Court against the city Health and Hospitals Corp., Bellevue's owner.

Rivera, a warehouse worker in New Jersey, refused to sign the waiver and was billed $3,000 for treatment, the Post reported.

"It's a permanent loss," said Rivera's lawyer, Myron Lasser. "It's going to inhibit his earning capacity."


© 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.


Police: McNair friend recently bought gun (2 min)
Ginepri, Amritraj win; Becker loses (3 min)
Michigan man pleads guilty to 'Net fraud (5 min)
Bird-nappers target valuable budgies (16 min)
Magnetic brain stimulation helps learning (17 min)
Report: Known defect led to Snowbird crash (24 min)
U.S., Russia to tackle non-proliferation (50 min)
Wallet stolen in 1982 found inside a tree with everything but a $20 bill still inside. In other...
You know how they're always telling you how a "tiger can't change his stripes"? Well, they're full...
You want to know why there haven't been 40 threads about the pro-democracy riots in China? Because...
Woman found dead in her backyard fish pond. Police are being koi about possible suspects
3 gunmen, over 100 shots fired, automatic weapons used and about 100 people at the party, yet no...
Bayer gets stiffed by Levitra pill heist. Police have no hard evidence, but are cock-sure they will...