Joan Rivers Cause of Death Latest News: Daughter Melissa Rivers Files Malpractice Suit Against Clinic, Doctors

Actress Melissa Rivers has filed a malpractice lawsuit against an endoscopy clinic in New York City and its doctors who treated her mom, comedienne Joan Rivers, last August, which caused the latter to fall into a coma leading to her death.

Named defendants in the lawsuit filed on Monday with the Manhattan State Supreme Court are the Yorkville Endoscopy, Frontier Healthcare, Gail Korovin, Renuka Bankulla, Robert Koniuta and Suzanne Scarola, according to the New York Daily News.

The 81-year-old comedienne went to the clinic for endoscopy and examination of her esophagus on Aug. 28 but ended up in a coma. She died of brain damage caused by lack of oxygen on Sept. 4.

"Filing this lawsuit," Melissa Rivers said in statement, "was one of the most difficult decisions I've ever had to make. What ultimately guided me was my unwavering belief that no family should ever have to go through what my mother, Cooper and I have been through."

"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," she added.

The New York Daily News said for 17 minutes while Rivers' blood pressure, pulse, heart rate and oxygen levels dropped, the attending doctors failed to do a tracheotomy, or incision in the windpipe, to restore oxygen to her brain.

In the lawsuit, it was alleged that the doctors also did an unauthorized biopsy on Rivers' vocal cords which led to laryngospasm, or closing of the vocal cords.

It said anesthesiologist Bankulla suggested taking an internal photo of the comedienne's swelling in the throat first.

Dr. Lawrence Cohen allegedly told her, "You're being paranoid ... You're such a curious cat. You always need to see everything," and proceeded with the unauthorized biopsy..

The doctors continued with the laryngoscopy that led to her cardiac arrest, the New York Daily News said, quoting the lawsuit.

Cohen, according to investigators, allowed Rivers' private doctor Korovin, to do the unauthorized biopsy even though the doctor was not cleared to work at the clinic.

By the time Rivers arrived at Mt. Sinai Hospital, she already had irreversible brain damage, according to the lawsuit.