Dr. Geoffrey Kim of Colorado is facing manslaughter charges in connection with the death of 18-year-old patient Emmalyn Nguyen in 2019 due to a botched surgery. The teen chose the doctor to do augmentation surgery, but he went into cardiac arrest before the procedure. She supposedly turned blue and went into a vegetative state before dying in October 2020.
Nguyen’s family filed a complaint against Dr. Kim and nurse anesthetist Rex Meeker, alleging that they failed to seek emergency aid during the surgery, causing her hospitalization to be delayed for over five hours. Dr. Geoffrey Kim turned himself in following a two-year investigation and posted $5,000 bail. He is accused of “reckless manslaughter and first-degree aggravated assault.” An arrest warrant has also been issued for anesthetist Meeker, who is also accused of reckless manslaughter. He allegedly surrendered on Friday, February 18, 2022.
What actions did Dr. Geoffrey Kim and Rex Meeker take?
Emmalyn Nguyen, 18, visited Dr. Geoffrey Kim at Colorado Aesthetic & Plastic Surgery on August 1, 2019, for breast augmentation. However, she had a heart attack when nurse anesthetist Rex Meeker administered anesthesia to the patient. Kim and Meeker attempted to revive Nguyen twice when she began turning blue owing to insufficient oxygen flow, as well as reverse the anesthetic. Unfortunately, the patient suffered significant brain damage and fell into a coma, leaving her forever “semi-conscious.”
Due to her illness, the adolescent was confined to a hospital bed and unable to eat, move, or communicate. She was also hooked up to an oxygen machine and was fed via a tube. Unfortunately, Nguyen died on October 4, 2020, approximately 14 months after the unsuccessful treatment. The patient’s family filed a complaint, alleging that Dr. Kim and his staff left Nguyen unattended for about 15 minutes after giving an anesthetic, failing to recognize that she had gone into cardiac arrest and wasn’t breathing.
#Update Colorado suspends medical license of Dr. Geoffrey Kim.
Medical Board says plastic surgeon wouldn’t let staff call 911 for more than 5 hours after 18-year old Emmalyn Nguyen stopped breathing during breast enhancement surgery. Now she’s in a coma. #kdvr pic.twitter.com/smOTzyIp3T
— Rob Low (@RobLowTV) January 22, 2020
David Woodruff, a family attorney, said doctors phoned 911 five hours after the incident. Lynn Fam, Nguyen’s mother, was fooled about her daughter’s condition, he added. Lynn told KDVR in December 2019 that her daughter was “OK” following a heart attack.
“She’s doing good, and she’s young; maybe that’s why she’s taking so long to wake up.”
Arrest warrants
Authorities say Dr. Geoffrey Kim declined to call 911 after the first failed resuscitation attempt on Nguyen. Documents also revealed that he declined Lynn Fam’s request to visit her daughter in the operating room. David Bosch, an emergency department doctor, also acknowledged to investigators that Kim and Meeker did not provide him with quick and correct information that may have aided Nguyen’s treatment:
“[Bosch] claimed that he did not know whether it was purposeful, but it seemed to be deliberate.”
Although it is rare for a medical practitioner to face criminal charges in connection with patient care, defense counsel Lou Shapiro stated that the information revealed in Geoffrey Kim’s case was “disturbing”:
“The more a doctor deviates from the norm, the more likely he may face criminal charges.” Dr. Conrad Murray, Michael Jackson’s doctor, was the most recent high-profile example in which this happened. That procedure has been demonstrated to be quite hazardous.”
After Nguyen died, the action against Kim and Meeker was renamed a “wrongful death lawsuit.” Meeker and Kim agreed to settle the case with Nguyen’s family for $1 million each in 2021. This week, Kim and Meeker surrendered to the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Department. According to a spokeswoman for the 18th Judicial District’s Office of the District Attorney, Dr. Kim is likely to face felony negligent homicide, reckless manslaughter, and misdemeanor obstruction of service. Kim’s medical license was revoked but was eventually restored with three years of probation. Meanwhile, Meeker has opted to quit delivering anesthesia voluntarily, although she can still work as a nurse.
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