Huguette Clark estate sues Beth Israel for exploiting heiress ‘in order to extract millions of dollars’
The city Public Administrator says the hospital 'deliberately violated state law and internal protocols, falsified records, and hid Huguette's existence from the hospital's legal department and outside regulators' so it 'would not be forced to discharge her as required.'
Comments (3)By Dareh Gregorian / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Thursday, November 21, 2013, 3:06 PM
Copper heiress Huguette Clark died in 2011, aged 104. She was rushed to Beth Israel Medical Center in the early 1990s to be treated for malnourishment and skin cancer.
The estate of Huguette Clark wants over $100 million from Beth Israel Medical Center, charging the hospital secluded the elderly copper heiress away in a room for decades “in order to extract millions of dollars in ‘rent’ and ‘gifts’ from her.”
In papers filed in Manhattan Surrogate's Court, the city Public Administrator says the hospital “deliberately violated state law and internal protocols, falsified records, and hid Huguette’s existence from the hospital’s legal department and outside regulators” so it “would not be forced to discharge her as required.”
The reclusive Clark lived in Beth Israel for the last two decades of her life, after she was rushed there for malnourishment and skin cancer in the early 1990s. She died in 2011 at the age of 104.
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“Once in Beth Israel, Huguette was isolated from the world,” the suit says, and the doctors and nurses there “betrayed her trust.”
During Clark’s 20-year stay at the hospital, it “never provided any psychiatric evaluation or treatment to assess and treat any mental health condition which led Huguette to the hospital in the first place,”the filing says. Instead, the filing says the hospital used its doctors, nurses and execs to hit the filthy rich heiress up for money.
“All told, during Huguette's residency at Beth Israel, she made more than $40 million in ‘gifts’ to the hospital and her care givers — and paid millions of dollars in additional rent and fees," the filing says.
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The suit says the hospital knew it was up to no good. Execs intentionally kept news of her residency from the hospital's legal department, the suit says, and employees were ordered to hide her 20,000-page file when state regulators were inspecting its records. The filing also names Clark's primary physician, Dr. Henry Singman, who Clark had paid close to $900,000 in gifts for him and his family.
Singman's lawyer did not return a call for comment.
A rep for Beth Israel, Rebecca Spitz, said, "The hospital is unable to comment on pending litigation."
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A massive fight over Clark's 2005 will ended in a settlement in September, with her distant relatives getting over $34 million, the hospital getting $1 million, Singman getting $100,000 and a charitable foundation in California getting over $90 million.
The deal left the door open for both the hospital and Singman to get sued by the estate, which is being administered by the city Public Administrator's office. It was put in charge after the original administrators were suspended for allegedly wasting the estate's assets.
In a statement, the Clark family praised the PA's move. "We welcome their action to hold accountable those who violated their duty to care for Aunt Huguette," the statement said, adding the family hoped the suit would "bring greater attention to the issue of elder abuse."
In papers filed in Manhattan Surrogate's Court, the city Public Administrator says the hospital “deliberately violated state law and internal protocols, falsified records, and hid Huguette’s existence from the hospital’s legal department and outside regulators” so it “would not be forced to discharge her as required.”
The reclusive Clark lived in Beth Israel for the last two decades of her life, after she was rushed there for malnourishment and skin cancer in the early 1990s. She died in 2011 at the age of 104.
Anonymous
Clark's New Caanan, Conn., estate, which is surrounded by 52 acres of land, was left vacant for two decades after the copper heiress was carried out on a stretcher.
“Once in Beth Israel, Huguette was isolated from the world,” the suit says, and the doctors and nurses there “betrayed her trust.”
Bales, Jeremy
Clark's estate alleges that Beth Israel Medical Center kept her secluded in a room “in order to extract millions of dollars in ‘rent’ and ‘gifts’ from her.”
RELATED: HUGUETTE CLARK’S JEWELS TO FETCH MILLIONS AT AUCTION
The suit says the hospital knew it was up to no good. Execs intentionally kept news of her residency from the hospital's legal department, the suit says, and employees were ordered to hide her 20,000-page file when state regulators were inspecting its records. The filing also names Clark's primary physician, Dr. Henry Singman, who Clark had paid close to $900,000 in gifts for him and his family.
Watts, Susan
Clark's property portfolio includes 42 rooms at 907 5th Ave at 72nd.
A rep for Beth Israel, Rebecca Spitz, said, "The hospital is unable to comment on pending litigation."
RELATED: HUGUETTE CLARK’S $300M ESTATE BATTLE: DEAL REACHED
A massive fight over Clark's 2005 will ended in a settlement in September, with her distant relatives getting over $34 million, the hospital getting $1 million, Singman getting $100,000 and a charitable foundation in California getting over $90 million.
The deal left the door open for both the hospital and Singman to get sued by the estate, which is being administered by the city Public Administrator's office. It was put in charge after the original administrators were suspended for allegedly wasting the estate's assets.
In a statement, the Clark family praised the PA's move. "We welcome their action to hold accountable those who violated their duty to care for Aunt Huguette," the statement said, adding the family hoped the suit would "bring greater attention to the issue of elder abuse."
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/huguette-clark-estate-sues-beth-israel-article-1.1524972#ixzz2mbVbIMNz
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