18-year-old died after doctor waited hours to get help, officials say. He’s convicted
A Colorado plastic surgeon accused of waiting five hours to call for help for an 18-year-old patient who later died has been convicted of attempted reckless manslaughter, officials reported.
Dr. Geoffrey Kim also was found guilty of obstruction of telephone service, the Arapahoe County District Attorney’s Office told McClatchy News.
Emmalyn Nguyen went into cardiac arrest and fell into a coma after being anesthetized for breast augmentation surgery at Kim’s Greenwood Village clinic in August 2019, McClatchy News reported.
Nguyen spent 14 months in a minimally conscious state with severe brain damage before dying in October 2020.
Kim faced accusations that he refused to allow his staff to call 911 until five hours after Nguyen fell into a coma, KDVR reported.
“We understand medical procedures don’t always go as planned, but this defendant showed a shocking and extreme lack of judgment and humanity by failing to call for an ambulance and denying his patient appropriate treatment in a hospital setting,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Gary Dawson said in a statement.
“This defendant made decisions based on what was best for his business and not for his patient,” Dawson said.
Kim’s defense said a nurse anesthetist gave Nguyen up to seven times more fentanyl than required, causing her death, according to KDVR. Charges against the nurse were dismissed in September.
Kim was acquitted on a charge of criminally negligent homicide, KUSA reported. Nguyen’s family settled a lawsuit with Kim in September.
Kim faces up to three years in prison when sentenced in September, the district attorney’s office said.
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