‘They took my daughter away'

Comments Comment on this article3

By The Associated Press
Published: December 22, 2007

LOS ANGELES — The family of a 17-year-old girl who died hours after her health insurer reversed a decision and said it would pay for a liver transplant plans to sue the company, their attorney said Friday.

Advertisement

Nataline Sarkisyan died Thursday about 6 p.m. at the University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center. She had been in a vegetative state for weeks, said her mother, Hilda.

Attorney Mark Geragos said he plans to ask the district attorney to press murder or manslaughter charges against Cigna HealthCare in the case. The insurer "maliciously killed her” because it did not want to bear the expense of her transplant and aftercare, Geragos said.

District Attorney spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons declined to comment on the request for murder or manslaughter charges, saying it would be inappropriate to do so until Geragos submits evidence supporting his request.

Phone calls to Cigna officials Friday were not immediately returned.

What led to death?
Nataline had been battling leukemia and received a bone marrow transplant from her brother. She developed a complication that caused her liver to fail.

Doctors at UCLA determined she needed a transplant and sent a letter to Cigna Corp.'s Cigna HealthCare on Dec. 11. The Philadelphia-based health insurance company denied payment for the transplant, saying the procedure was experimental and outside the scope of coverage.

The insurer reversed the decision Thursday as about 150 teenagers and nurses rallied outside of its office. But Nataline died hours later.

"They took my daughter away from me,” said Nataline's father, Krikor, who appeared at the news conference with his 21-year-old son, Bedros.

E-mail defends decision
Despite the reversal, Cigna said in an e-mail statement before she died that there was a lack of medical evidence showing the procedure would work in Nataline's case.

"Our hearts go out to Nataline and her family, as they endure this terrible ordeal,” the company said. "Cigna HealthCare has decided to make an exception in this rare and unusual case and we will provide coverage should she proceed with the requested liver transplant.”

In their letter, the UCLA doctors said patients in situations similar to Nataline's who undergo transplants have a six-month survival rate of about 65 percent.

One of the doctors, Robert Venick, declined to comment on Nataline's case when reached at his office Friday.


Toolbar sponsored by: David Stanley Ford
Bookmark and Share

Related Topics: Law, Crime, Health and Fitness, Medicine, Criminal Law, Trials, Criminal Trials, Manslaughter, Organ Donation


Comments

Thank you for joining our conversations on NewsOK.com. We encourage your discussions but ask that you stay within the bounds of our terms and conditions. Please help us by reporting comments that violate these guidelines. To review our rules of engagement, go to Commenting and posting policy.

Editor's note: It is not our intent to offer comments on crime or fatality stories.

Leave a comment. Log in below or sign up (it's free).

   
What did the parents do to pay for her transplant? Did they mortgage their home, sell their luxury cars, take on additional jobs, borrow as much money as the banks would lend them? For Nataline to receive a liver transplant, someone else's child had to die. How many livers are available for 17-year-olds? This family is grieving, but their anger is misplaced. Neither Cigna nor UCLA is omnipotent. Life and medical procedures come with no guarantee. Death awaits us all, arriving at different dates. Love your children NOW. Cherish these days with your loved ones so that when it is time to part, you will have wonderful memories and no regrets.
D. Lopez, Glendale, CA
Dale, Glendale - Dec 22, 2007 10:57 AM
Report as inappropriate
It's amazing how we pay for years and years for medical insurance, then when we need it, our procedures aren't covered. I hope they are convicted of wrongdoings, and held accountable. Too bad the only entity to benefit from this will be an attorney.
Dale, Waurika - Dec 22, 2007 8:17 AM
Report as inappropriate
Insurance companies get to decide who lives and who dies.
Brett, Oklahoma City - Dec 22, 2007 6:17 AM
Report as inappropriate