Woman dies from undisclosed liver biopsy after false Lesion diagnosis

A New Jersey woman passed away mere hours after a diagnostic and biopsy procedure on her liver, with doctors internally bleeding her to death after asserting she had non-existent lesions and inflicting a "significant cut," a lawsuit claims.

"A later private forensic examination... and related photographic evidence proved the complete lack of any lesions on the deceased's liver," a legal document from Phyllis Burrell's family, accessed by Law&Crime, mentions.

"The examination also unveiled that the deceased endured a substantial cut on her liver," the document states.

"Additionally, the examination revealed that she endured a massive and fatal internal bleed."

Burrell, aged 64, was a municipal worker in East Orange who sought treatment at Mountainside Medical Center in Montclair for an "acute medical condition," as per the document.

"After several days of care, she left with a medication prescription," the document describes, noting Burrell's hospital admission in "late March" 2024.

Upon her discharge, Burrell's health "significantly worsened" at home, leading her to return to the hospital on April 8, 2024, with general weakness and other "serious" symptoms, as indicated in the document.

"Upon hospitalization, lab results showed the deceased had severe and acute multi-organ damage," the document elaborates.

"Her state had severely deteriorated compared to her earlier admission a few days prior."

Burrell faced "sudden and acute organ failure" aligned with a known, though uncommon, adverse drug reaction to the medicines prescribed by Mountainside Medical doctors, operated by Hackensack Meridian Health.

"Despite the clear timeline of the new medication's provision and her rapid health decline, defendants didn't acknowledge, review, or react to her condition as a probable adverse drug reaction," the document details. "Instead, they pursued different diagnostic approaches."

Over the following days, Burrell's health further declined, and doctors "proposed and arranged" a liver biopsy "when less risky alternatives were available," unbeknownst to her family, according to them.

"Post-procedure, the deceased was moved to a recovery area," the document mentions, asserting that Burrell was without cardiac monitors or blood pressure monitors and notably lacked an "immediate post-procedure intravenous line or other standard observation devices during this crucial recovery phase."

Burrell's family arrived at the hospital and noted she appeared "lethargic and unwell," as stated in the document.

After approximately ninety minutes, the family found Burrell "cold" to the touch and alerted the nursing team. Burrell became unconscious and could not be revived, her family recounts.

"A 'Code Blue' was announced, and revival attempts began," according to the document. "The deceased was declared dead less than three hours post-procedure."

Burrell's family claims doctors at Mountainside "explicitly asserted that the liver biopsy was vitally necessary because a CT scan showed 'lesions'" on her liver before the procedure. Nonetheless, a later "private forensic examination" conducted around April 17, 2024, alongside the evidence, allegedly confirmed the lack of lesions.

"Upon information and belief, the deceased died internally due to the direct and immediate consequence of the injury during the procedure," the document states, referring to the revealed laceration.

The family alleges Burrell's doctors falsely claimed natural causes, citing "cardiogenic shock," "acute heart failure," "unknown metastatic disease," and "possible lymphoma" as reasons while allegedly omitting any mention of the liver laceration, "intra-abdominal bleeding," the recent liver biopsy, or "the alleged monitoring and rescue failures detailed herein, thus materially misrepresenting and hiding the iatrogenic and wrongful-death nature of the deceased's passing," according to the document.

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The document asserts that this "tragic outcome stemmed from defendants' inability to accurately diagnose and manage the Decedent's declining health; their reckless decision to subject a critically ill and high-risk patient to an invasive intervention; and an outright failure of post-procedure observation that permitted her to suffer a fatal, untreated impairment."

Discussing the $40 million lawsuit and Burrell's death with NJ.com, her nephew Melvin Jones Jr. expressed, "It's simply baffling," regarding the biopsy and the hospital's alleged refusal to connect Burrell to monitoring apparatus. "Upon arrival, we were in disbelief."