Rachel Tussey, 47, shared her life with more than 80,000 TikTok followers.The Ohio wife and mother of three had been on a wellness journey, one that included a tummy tuck.”I’m really looking forward to this next chapter,” Rachel Tussey said in one of the final videos she posted Feb. 25 before going into surgery. “I’m in good hands. I know God’s got my back, and let’s do this.”That next chapter never came.A lawsuit filed Thursday accuses the surgery center, JourneyLite of Cincinnati, and its anesthesia partner, Associated Anesthesiologists of Springfield, of negligence.The family’s attorneys, Bernie Layne and Dante’ DiTrapano, said the surgery, performed by Dr. Shahryar Tork, went well, but what happened afterward did not. “They gave too much pain medicine, goes into cardiac arrest and becomes unresponsive, and they don’t know how to resuscitate her. They have nurses that weren’t trained or weren’t able to get her breathing again,” DiTrapano said.According to the lawsuit, Rachel Tussey was given a “lethal opioid overdose” and then left without proper monitoring or emergency care.”It is alleged by Dr. Tork in his affidavit that the anesthesiologists left very early on in the day prior to the completion of the surgery,” Layne said.Nurses who were there reportedly gave Tussey Narcan.”Although they gave three rounds of Narcan to her, there was no CPR given to circulate the Narcan in her system,” Layne said.Attorneys said Rachel Tussey’s husband, Jeremy Tussey, watched the chaos unfold.”They asked him to participate in holding her head up to try and put the mask on her properly. It was flying off her face, according to Jeremy,” Layne said.DiTrapano added, “We have information that what they were trying to do was put it on correctly, but they were suffocating her because it was not put on correctly.” Attorneys said Rachel Tussey had gone more than six minutes without oxygen to her brain.A staff member eventually called 911.”There’s a 911 call that we have a recording of where it sounds actually like this person is going to order some Chinese food or something, and there’s no urgency,” DiTrapano said. “It’s awful. It’s very painful to listen to because you know in your mind that there’s a soul that’s over here that can’t breathe.” Paramedics arrived, and Rachel Tussey was transported to Bethesda North Hospital.Jeremy Tussey later posted an emotional video from the hospital documenting the moments doctors told him Rachel Tussey had suffered catastrophic brain damage.”Somebody dropped the ball and killed my wife,” he said.Rachel Tussey died 20 days later. Tork has filed a separate lawsuit against the surgery center and its anesthesia partner.”This is a rare case where you have an eyewitness, the surgeon, to the malpractice that caused the death, and that’s something I’ve never seen in my career,” DiTrapano said.Messages left with JourneyLite were not returned. The phone number for Associated Anesthesiologists of Springfield is no longer working.
CINCINNATI —
Rachel Tussey, 47, shared her life with more than 80,000 TikTok followers.
The Ohio wife and mother of three had been on a wellness journey, one that included a tummy tuck.
“I’m really looking forward to this next chapter,” Rachel Tussey said in one of the final videos she posted Feb. 25 before going into surgery. “I’m in good hands. I know God’s got my back, and let’s do this.”
That next chapter never came.
A lawsuit filed Thursday accuses the surgery center, JourneyLite of Cincinnati, and its anesthesia partner, Associated Anesthesiologists of Springfield, of negligence.
The family’s attorneys, Bernie Layne and Dante’ DiTrapano, said the surgery, performed by Dr. Shahryar Tork, went well, but what happened afterward did not.
“They gave too much pain medicine, goes into cardiac arrest and becomes unresponsive, and they don’t know how to resuscitate her. They have nurses that weren’t trained or weren’t able to get her breathing again,” DiTrapano said.
According to the lawsuit, Rachel Tussey was given a “lethal opioid overdose” and then left without proper monitoring or emergency care.
“It is alleged by Dr. Tork in his affidavit that the anesthesiologists left very early on in the day prior to the completion of the surgery,” Layne said.
Nurses who were there reportedly gave Tussey Narcan.
“Although they gave three rounds of Narcan to her, there was no CPR given to circulate the Narcan in her system,” Layne said.
Attorneys said Rachel Tussey’s husband, Jeremy Tussey, watched the chaos unfold.
“They asked him to participate in holding her head up to try and put the mask on her properly. It was flying off her face, according to Jeremy,” Layne said.
DiTrapano added, “We have information that what they were trying to do was put it on correctly, but they were suffocating her because it was not put on correctly.”
Attorneys said Rachel Tussey had gone more than six minutes without oxygen to her brain.
A staff member eventually called 911.
“There’s a 911 call that we have a recording of where it sounds actually like this person is going to order some Chinese food or something, and there’s no urgency,” DiTrapano said. “It’s awful. It’s very painful to listen to because you know in your mind that there’s a soul that’s over here that can’t breathe.”
Paramedics arrived, and Rachel Tussey was transported to Bethesda North Hospital.
Jeremy Tussey later posted an emotional video from the hospital documenting the moments doctors told him Rachel Tussey had suffered catastrophic brain damage.
“Somebody dropped the ball and killed my wife,” he said.
Rachel Tussey died 20 days later.
Tork has filed a separate lawsuit against the surgery center and its anesthesia partner.
“This is a rare case where you have an eyewitness, the surgeon, to the malpractice that caused the death, and that’s something I’ve never seen in my career,” DiTrapano said.
Messages left with JourneyLite were not returned. The phone number for Associated Anesthesiologists of Springfield is no longer working.