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Melissa Rivers settles malpractice lawsuit with clinic over Joan Rivers' death

By Wade Sheridan
Joan Rivers (R) and Melissa Rivers arrive at the Clive Davis pre-Grammy party and salute to Antonio 'L.A.' Reid on February 9, 2013. Melissa has settled with the New York clinic where her mother Joan died during a throat procedure. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI
1 of 2 | Joan Rivers (R) and Melissa Rivers arrive at the Clive Davis pre-Grammy party and salute to Antonio 'L.A.' Reid on February 9, 2013. Melissa has settled with the New York clinic where her mother Joan died during a throat procedure. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo

NEW YORK, May 13 (UPI) -- Melissa Rivers has settled with the New York clinic where her mother Joan Rivers suffered from a fatal complication during a throat procedure.

Melissa who filed the lawsuit in January 2015 following her mother's death in August 2014, issued a statement about the settlement with Yorkville Endoscopy on Twitter.

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"The lawsuit concerning my mother's death has been settled. In accepting this settlement, I am able to put the legal aspects of my mother's death behind me and ensure that those culpable for her death have accepted responsibility for their actions quickly and without equivocation," she wrote.

"Moving forward, my focus will be to ensure that no one ever has to go through what my mother, (son) Cooper and I went through and I will work towards ensuring higher safety standards in out-patient surgical clinics. I want to express my personal gratitude to my legal team for their wise counsel and prompt resolution of this case," she continued.

Yorkville Endoscopy also spoke on the matter, noting in a statement, "Our thoughts and prayers continue to go out to the Rivers family. Today, the parties agreed to settle this case to avoid protracted litigation," it said. "We remain committed to providing quality, compassionate healthcare services that meet the needs of our patients, their families and the community."

Melissa's lawyers confirmed that the settlement covers the clinic and the doctors named as defendants including former medical director Dr. Lawrence Cohen, anesthesiologist Robert Koiuta and Dr. Gwen Korovin, Joan's then ear, nose and throat doctor.

Joan underwent a procedure on her vocal chords at the center on August 28, 2014 and stopped breathing on the table. She died one week later at the age of 81. Seen as a pioneering queen of comedy and a noted red carpet host, Joan received an outpouring of support from fans who were shocked to learn of her death.

"The level of medical mismanagement, incompetency, disrespect, and outrageous behavior is shocking and frankly, almost incomprehensible. Not only did my mother deserve better, every patient deserves better. It is my goal to make sure that this kind of horrific medical treatment never happens to anyone again," Melissa said at the time of the filing.

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