Lawsuit: Las Vegas hospital falsely told mother her son was dead

Marlene Garbowski, a New Jersey resident, filed a lawsuit against Southern Hills Hospital and Medical Center in Las Vegas, alleging that the hospital incorrectly informed her that her son had died when he was, in fact, alive. Her attorneys claim the hospital and its staff were negligent and caused negligent infliction of emotional distress, noting that Garbowski did not discover the mistake was false until three days after being told. The complaint says a hospital manager reached out to her weeks later to acknowledge the error and apologize, describing the incident as a “learning tool” for the facility. The suit includes Garbowski’s own statements: “During this three-day period, Ms. Garbowski mostly was incapable to get out of bed, was paralyzed by grief, and was incapable to relate in her day-to-day life,” the suit stated. It also quotes: “During this three-day period, Ms. Garbowski was compelled to take a medication anti-anxiety medication that she had never previously needed to take, in an effort to cope with the emotional distress caused directly by Southern Hills' false statement.” Southern Hills did not provide an immediate response to a request for comment. According to the filing, Geoffrey Garbowski had been a patient at Southern Hills, located at 9300 W. Sunset Road, near the 215 Beltway, around January 2024. On November 1, 2024, Garbowski contacted the hospital to obtain copies of her son’s medical records for his Supplemental Security Income application, but received an email on November 5 stating that the records could not be released because her son was listed as a “deceased patient.” The lawsuit asserts that the hospital had “a duty to exercise reasonable care in the accuracy of information” it conveyed to her, and that state law “requires hospitals to maintain accurate, properly filed, and readily retrievable medical records, and to employ sufficient qualified staff to guarantee that patient information is accurately and promptly communicated.” It further argues that the hospital manager’s remarks constitute an admission of error. The suit concludes: “As a proximate result of Southern Hills' negligent behavior described herein, Ms. Garbowski has suffered, and continues to suffer, severe emotional distress with accompanying physical manifestations, including but not limited to her inability to get out of bed for about 3 days and her request for anti-anxiety medication, as well as ongoing mental harm,” the suit stated.