Family awarded settlement after teen dies following breast augmentation surgery
Heather Skold
DENVER, Colo. (KRDO) The family of Emmalyn Nguyen was recently awarded $2 million after the 18-year-old got a botched breast augmentation in 2019.
Insurance companies for plastic surgeon Dr. Geoffrey Kim and certified registered nurse anesthetist Rex Meeker, paid $1 million, respectively, settling out of court after a malpractice suit. Both men refused to contribute their own personal assets after the tragedy.
Emmalyn Nguyen
The settlement ends a saga that s spanned two years for Nguyen s family.
Shortly after going under general anesthesia at the Greenwood Village-based Colorado Aesthetic and Plastic Surgery Center, Emmalyn Nguyen stopped breathing and later went into cardiac arrest. It was 15 minutes before anyone checked on her. Five and a half hours later, Meeker called 911 for help.
Nguyen is now in a permanently vegetative state
Tragedy Under the Knife
DENVER (KRDO) 14 months after Emmalyn Nguyen went in for breast augmentation surgery, she passed away due to complications.
According to her family s lawyer, David Woodruff of Denver Trial Lawyers, Nguyen died October 4th. She most recently had started responding by smiling at her parents, and was close to being cared for at home, instead of a long-term skilled facility.
The teen was left in a vegetative state after she stopped breathing under anesthesia, August 1, 2019.
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Days blend into weeks. Emmalyn Nguyen is trapped in a 20-by-20 foot room. She s silent. Her body won t move.