Southern Hills Hospital and Medical Center in Las Vegas, Nev. (Google Maps).
A Nevada hospital allegedly shattered a mother’s world in an email by telling her that her son was a “deceased patient,” when he was — and still remains — alive. It wasn’t until three days later that she found out he wasn’t dead, a lawsuit says.
“During this three-day period, Ms. Garbowski generally was unable to get out of bed, was paralyzed by grief, and was unable to function in her day-to-day life,” alleges a complaint filed by the mother, Marlene Garbowski, which was obtained by Law&Crime. “During this three-day period, Ms. Garbowski was compelled to take a prescription 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.”
Garbowski is suing Southern Hills Hospital and Medical Center in Las Vegas, along with its employees, accusing them of negligence and negligent infliction of emotional distress after staffers allegedly identified her son, Geoffrey, as a “deceased patient” despite him being alive.
Love true crime? Sign up for our newsletter, The Law&Crime Docket, to get the latest real-life crime stories delivered right to your inbox.
Geoffrey had previously been a patient at Southern Hills in January 2024, according to the complaint.
Months later, Garbowski contacted the hospital seeking copies of her son’s medical records as part of his application for Supplemental Security Income benefits. On Nov. 5, 2024, the hospital allegedly responded by email with a devastating message: It could not release the records because Geoffrey was “deceased.”
“This statement was false,” the complaint says. “Geoffrey was, and remains, alive.”
The complaint says a hospital complaint manager contacted Garbowski weeks afterward, acknowledged the error and apologized, allegedly referring to the incident as a “learning tool” for the hospital. Garbowski’s attorneys contend Southern Hills had a duty to ensure the information it gave her was accurate.
Her complaint alleges the hospital had “a duty to exercise reasonable care in the accuracy of information” it relayed to Garbowski. It further states that Nevada law requires hospitals to maintain accurate medical records and have enough qualified personnel to ensure patient information is “accurately and promptly communicated.”
Garbowski’s attorneys contend the manager’s apology amounted to an admission of error, and the complaint says the consequences went far beyond a record-keeping mistake.
“As a proximate result of Southern Hills’ negligent conduct 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 approximately three days and her need for prescription anti-anxiety medication, as well as ongoing psychological harm,” the complaint states.
Garbowski’s lawsuit seeks damages for the alleged negligence and emotional distress. Southern Hills has not responded to requests for comment from Law&Crime and the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
The post Mom spent 3 days thinking her son was dead after hospital falsely told her in an email he was a ‘deceased patient,’ lawsuit says first appeared on Law & Crime.
