Widow of celebrity chef Floyd Cardoz sues Mountainside Hospital

The widow of Floyd Cardoz has filed suit against Hackensack Meridian Mountainside Hospital, where the celebrity chef died of complications from COVID in March 2020.

The complaint, filed in Essex County Superior Court in March by Barkha Cardoz, alleges that hospital staff intentionally disclosed private details about her husband's illness and death for the benefit of "news" and "gossip."

At the same time, the suit alleges, she "struggled and fought to obtain word one on Floyd's condition over the 10 days of his hospitalization."

"Rather than focusing on treatment of Mr. Cardoz or properly informing his wife of his condition, Defendants focused on Mr. Cardoz's celebrity," the complaint reads. "The public was provided the information that Defendants could not be bothered to share with Barkha."

Floyd Cardoz, 59, was living in Verona with his wife and two young sons in the early days of the pandemic when he developed a fever after a trip to India. The chef, who became famous for his innovative cooking at the Indian restaurant Tabla in Manhattan and won the "Top Chef Masters" reality TV show in 2011, had two restaurants in Mumbai. He sold Tabla, which had been owned by Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group, the year before his death.

The complaint alleges that Barkha Cardoz, on calling family members to notify them of her husband's death, was "horrified" to learn that they already knew the details, including when he was placed on a ventilator and dialysis.

During her husband's illness, while she was not permitted to visit, Barkha Cardoz placed "innumerable increasingly desperate" calls to Mountainside, but did not receive a return call from any physician overseeing her husband's care until March 18, three days after he was admitted, the complaint reads. That call was from an on-call ER physician with limited knowledge of his condition.

On March 20, she received a call from a physician who told her that her husband had been put on a ventilator, a "particularly troubling and stressful revelation since the use of a ventilator significantly increases the likelihood of complications, including death." The next call was on March 24, to get Barkha's consent to put her husband on dialysis − also troubling since he had been healthy with no kidney issues. The last call was on March 25 to advise that he was not responding to efforts to resuscitate him and to ask for consent to cease lifesaving measures.

"To say that Barkha was emotionally devastated is an understatement. Her previously healthy husband was admitted to the hospital on March 15th and passed a few days later with little explanation or input into his medical care," the complaint reads.

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In an email quoted in the complaint, Mountainside officials apologized for the actions of a resident, said an investigation would be launched and that it would be used as a "learning experience" for the residents and staff.

Legal counsel for Mountainside did not immediately respond for a request to comment on the lawsuit.

Cardoz was renowned for his warmth and generosity as much as for his prowess in the kitchen. Food writer Jeff Gordinier wrote in Esquire, "he was known for being unfailingly, unflappably kind."

Ariane Duarte of CulinAriane Caterers of Verona said: "He always wanted us to do well, always gave (my husband) Mike and me tips and advice. He was such a wonderful man."

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Widow of celebrity chef Floyd Cardoz sues Mountainside Hospital