Bernie Mac's Wife Files Lawsuit Blaming Dermatologist For His Death
Posted on Aug 06, 2010 @ 08:10AM
Comedian Bernie Mac’s wife is blaming his longtime doctor for his premature death and has filed a lawsuit against him, RadarOnline.com has learned.
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Rhonda McCullough alleges that in the weeks leading up to the Bad Santa star’s death, his Chicago-based dermatologist Rene M. Earles missed the indications of severe respiratory problems that turned out to be fatal.
Earles was treating Mac, 50, in his office on July 17, 2009 for lesions on his head, face and neck caused by his inflammatory lung disease, sarcoidosis.
The funny man appeared weak and complained of a low-grade fever and a rash, but instead of calling an ambulance Earles kept him in his clinic for nine hours, setting off a catastrophic series of events that led to his death related to pneumonia on August 9, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
The suit that was filed last week claims Earles "failed to recognize cardiopulmonary instability in Bernie" and "failed to recognize and act upon abnormal vital signs and signs of respiratory failure" during that July visit to his clinic. McCullough is seeking at least $50,000 in damages.
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After treating Bernie for 20 years, Earles told the Sun-Times that it hasbeen incredibly tough on him.
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"It was entirely devastating. Look, Bernie was my patient. Bernie was my friend. We became extremely close -- we were like brothers."
He said he doesn't know how to respond to negligence accusations in the suit because he believed he took good care of Mac.
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"He didn't die the next day, he didn't die in two days. He died in two weeks and he got over his original strain of pneumonia. He got another strain of pneumonia while he was in the hospital."
RadarOnline.com called Earles office but they declined to give a comment.
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The Daily Juice
Dermatologists only deal with disorders of the skin. They do not treat other diseases!
Posted Sat, 08/07/2010 - 9:48am
Dermatologists deal with skin not respiratory problems!! He died two weeks after the dermatologist worked on his skin? She needs to sue the right person not this guy!!!
Posted Sat, 08/07/2010 - 9:45am
I always thought he was on the downlow
Posted Fri, 08/06/2010 - 10:33pm
Don't think she has a strong case. I think she was better off suing hospital where he contracted the second infection, but to sue the doctor, he did take care of Bernie and observed him. People just love to sue!
Posted Fri, 08/06/2010 - 9:33pm
I also have pulmonary sarcoidosis. The problem is, doctors who don't see a lot of cases of it so don't know how to treat it. It took nearly 2 yrs to even get a diagnosis for mine. They thought it was asthma, then fungus or cancer.
Posted Fri, 08/06/2010 - 5:33pm
Who is Bernie?
Posted Fri, 08/06/2010 - 3:45pm
It won't bring him back. Move on.
Posted Fri, 08/06/2010 - 2:56pm
I miss Bernie
Posted Fri, 08/06/2010 - 1:55pm