Law&Crime Sidebar - TikToker Dies After Mommy Makeover Post-Op Nightmare: Lawsuit

Episode Date: April 8, 2026

A tragic “mommy makeover” case is now at the center of a high-stakes legal battle after 47-year-old TikTok Momfluencer Rachel Tussey died following post-operative complications, with her surgeon blaming the surgical center for a fatal overdose and alleged cover-up. The case lays out competing narratives — one accusing staff of negligence and misconduct, and the other firmly denying wrongdoing while questioning the true cause of death. Law&Crime’s Jesse Weber walks us through the shocking allegations, the defense’s response, and what this case could mean as the search for accountability unfolds.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW: Download the FREE Upside App at  https://upside.app.link/sidebar to get an extra 25 cents bonus for every gallon on your first tank of gas.HOST:Jesse Weber: https://twitter.com/jessecordweberLAW&CRIME SIDEBAR PRODUCTION:YouTube Management - Bobby SzokeVideo Editing - Michael Deininger, Christina O'Shea, Alex Ciccarone, & Jay CruzScript Writing & Producing - Savannah Williamson & Juliana BattagliaGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrimeTwitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

I know it's going to be great, and I've waited a really long time for this. A TikTok mom influencer documented her journey as she reportedly went under the knife for what she called a mommy makeover. However, this was a decision that would lead to tragedy. Somebody dropped the ball and killed my wife. The surgeon claims this was out of his control, and now he's taking legal action. This patient was taken from me. I've never lost the patient. This lawsuit is about getting the truth out there.

and making sure that the world understands what happened here. Welcome to Sidebar, presented by law and crime. I'm Jesse Weber. All right, before we go any further, I got to tell you about this app. I think you're going to love it. It's called Upside, Gets You Cash Back. Yes, real extra cash back on everyday purchases like gas, groceries, takeout.

Here's what you do. You download Upside for free. You claim an offer at one of their 100,000-plus locations. You pay like normal with your card. You verify the purchase, and just like that, money back. So say I need to get gas or I want takeout one night. I'll search for upside offers first. And after I spend, money appears in my app that I can transfer right into my bank account.

And Upside's frequent users, they earn an average of $254 back a year. So to start getting your cash back, click the link in the description or scan the QR code and use promo code's sidebar to get an extra 25 cents bonus on every gallon on your first tank of gas. 47-year-old married mother of three, Rachel Tussie, had an optimistic look in the new year. Plans to put herself first in the form of a special cosmetic procedure. Set it up. 2026 is your year. Your year, mama.

If you're in your 40s, it is your turn. I've got a mommy makeover scheduled for early February 26. Super excited for that. And I'm doing it for me, not for anybody else. Now, mommy makeover is not really a new thing. I mean, you go to the data, according to the latest data from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. There were over 171,000 tummy tuck procedures performed in 2024, the third most popular cosmetic surgery that year. Now, you know, you know, you know, you know,

Yes, any surgery carries its own risks. But to be clear, the mortality rate of such procedures is reportedly very rare. Statistically, there is a one in 13,000 chance of it happening. This is according to a 2020 medical journal article. Okay, here it is. It's my turn. I feel a big range of emotions, but mostly it is absolutely excitement and gratitude. My husband's here. I've got a great support team.

And I'm really looking forward to this next chapter. But sadly for Tussie and her family, this is one of those cases. Tussie never made it out of the recovery room following her mommy makeover in February. And her husband had to share the tragic news on her TikTok account. I was told last night that she's brain dead. I've got a couple days to make a decision. March 17th, exactly two weeks after that video was posted. posted, Tussie passed away in hospice care. Now, there are a lot of questions needing to be

answered here, right? How did this happen? Is someone at fault? Who's at fault? Could this have been avoided? Was it a mistake? Was it an accident? Now, I'm going to preface this by also saying there are no criminal charges that are filed in this case at the time of this recording. But just this week, and this is what we want to get into, there was a civil lawsuit that was filed by the surgeon and the surgical center containing shocking allegations they believe were revealed. the truth behind this horrible situation. This is the first patient. You could say that I've lost, but she was taken from me.

This was not a tummy tuck complication. She would be home. I would be seeing her smiling in my office if other people had done their job right. And it's not just about alleged mistakes. It's about an alleged cover up. That is the theme of this lawsuit. And I want to get into it, okay? So the man you just saw is Dr. Shariah Tork.

Apologies if I mispronounced the first name. But this is the surgeon behind TORC plastic surgery LLC, both listed as plaintiffs in this lawsuit that was filed on Tuesday. Okay, so they're the one suing. Now you might be wondering, okay, who is the surgeon targeting in this lawsuit? According to the filing, the defendants are listed as Journey Light of Cincinnati LLC, Associated Anesthesiologists of Springfield Inc. And John Jane Doe Corporation's 1 through 12. Now, how do they all play into this?

Well, here's how the law. against. This action arises out of the tragic death of Rachel Tussie, Dr. Shariah Tork's patient at the Journey Light Surgery Center. After Mrs. Tussie's successful surgery, Journey Light failed to provide safe recovery and post-anesthesia care. So to be clear, this is not about someone dying in the middle of a surgery, not the idea of a botched surgery and someone dies in the middle of it. This is about what allegedly happened afterwards. So according to this lawsuit, the surgeon claims that Tussie's death was not his doing. It was not his fault, but it was the doing of the post-op crew that was associated with the surgical center and the anesthesiology center. But what does the

surgeon allege actually happen? And is there potentially a case here? That's what we're going to walk through. And remember, this is Tork's allegations, right? This is his narrative, his version. Just keep that in mind. But the filing states that Dr. Tork met Tussie for consultation. Now, she originally didn't want to move forward with the procedure because of the cost. Despite, this. Apparently Tussie left a positive Google review on Dr. Tork's business profile, and based on the doctor's impression of her, because he seemed to have been so taken aback by her doing that, he decided, you know what, let's work things out financially, and they went forward with scheduling the procedure for February 25th at the Journey Light

Surgery Center. My doctor is Dr. Tork in Cincinnati, and when I tell you, this guy is amazing, he is amazing. I see why people come from all over the country because he has a skill set that is definitely not a Midwest doctor at all. So I'm super impressed with him. And I think that liking your surgeon and trusting your surgeon, I think that makes a big difference in this process because this is a big operation that I'm getting ready to do. The day before the surgery, the filing says that Dr. Tork met with Tussie for a final time to go over the surgery in detail about possible complications, expectations for post-op care, recovery. And Dr. Tork said that he met with Tussie and her husband.

in the pre-op area and would visit the recovery room after the surgery was completed. Now, I'm going to stop right there. What that conversation was about what those possible complications were, what was communicated, that will potentially play a role and an important role in this case because sometimes you see in these cases an assumption of the risk argument, you know, look, this is risky, she understood what the risks are, this is what could happen, what was properly communicated to her, what could be the complications, what could be the realistic complications for something like this. So just to keep in mind. Now, the lawsuit states that the surgery began at 8.14 a.m. the following morning,

but the surgeon didn't call this a routine cosmetic procedure. I performed Rachel's surgery, a tummy tuck with 360 liposuction, and an umbilical hernia repair. This was not a mommy makeover. The procedure lasted nine hours and was completed without complication. I approached her care with the same precision and attention I give every patient. Jumping in again, if this proceeds towards trial, okay, or even through discovery, you know, the exchange of material exchange of evidence, the defense will probably look into other surgeries that Dr. Tork performed and whether there were any issues associated with that. I mean, I have to imagine that's something they're going to do.

And I'm not saying that there are any issues, but putting my legal cap on, defense cap on, I have to imagine that's something they're going to do. Now, the filing says, quote, Mrs. Tussie required low pain medications dosages during the surgery. For the entire duration of the surgery, Mrs. Tussie received 100 micrograms of fentanyl and 0.5 milligrams of dilated. Her low pain medication dosage needs reflected Mrs. Tussie's low opioid tolerance level. I don't like pain medicine. This is important to keep in mind as we go through this lawsuit. But according to Dr. Tork, surgery went well.

Tussie was extubated. She was rolled into recovery in the post-anesthesia care unit at around 5.15 p.m. lawsuit claims that 30 minutes later, Tussie was alert. She was speaking with her husband, the medical team, and also Dr. Tork. And then by 549 p.m., Dr. Tork left the surgery center and headed home. So at this point, everything appeared to be fine, right? According to the surgeon, the procedure was successful. Tussie was alert while in the recovery room. What happened next should have never happened. So what happened next? Well, the lawsuit states, quote, at 5.55 p.m. six minutes later, while Dr. Tork was driving home in less than two to three miles away from the surgery center, he received a call from a journey light post-anesthesia care unit and recovery nurse.

The nurse told Dr. Tork that Mrs. Tussie had become hypoxic, meaning she's not getting enough oxygen, and quote, unresponsive and that EMS had been called. When asked if Mrs. Tussie had been given anything before the acute change, the nurse told Dr. Tors, she'd been given 150 micrograms of fentanyl and 0.5 milligrams of dilaudid right after Dr. Torque left the facility. The level of speed of narcotics administered during Rachel's recovery were extraordinary and dangerous. I think anyone in this room can conclude that if you give 150 of fentanyl and 0.5 of dilaudid within minutes, what do you think is going to happen to that person? Now, keep in mind, the lawsuit claims that the surgical center gave Tussie 50 micrograms more of fentanyl and post-op than she originally received for the entire duration of the nine-hour

surgery. And remember in the filing, Tussie was said to have a low opioid tolerance level. Again, this is his allegations, but that's going to be an important point here, which would explain why the surgeon would ask if anything was given to her before she apparently had this medical emergency. Now, the suit says that Dr. Tork told the nurses to immediately. treat Tussi with Narcan. This is a drug that's used to treat opioid overdoses, but the nurses said she already gave her one. So Dr. Tork advised the nurse to give her another dose. And Dr. Tork

claims when he arrived back at the facility, two nurses were working on Tussie in the post-op anesthesia care unit. And according to the suit, quote, a second nurse, nurse number one, remember this, nurse number one, was attempting to use a bag mask on Mrs. Tussie. Mrs. Tussie was not breathing. The nurse did not have a proper seal on the bag mask. Mrs. Tussie's chest did not rise. Dr. Tork asked for a stethoscope, but they did not have one. Mrs. Tussie was in Brady Cardia, slow heartbeat, and she was hypoxic. She was unresponsive. Emergency medical services arrived. Dr. Tork told the MS. he could not detect a pulse. The emergency squad placed Mrs. Tussie onto a gurney and transported her to the back of the ambulance. And Sue claims that Tussie was reintubated.

rushed to Bethesda North Hospital. Dr. Tork apparently entered the emergency department bay to see her. By that time, though, according to this lawsuit, Tussie had coded again, and she was given CPR by the emergency team. And the filing continues, the emergency team was able to restore circulation, but it was already too late. Mrs. Tussie was brain dead. Mrs. Tussie had suffered an anoxic brain injury

in the Journey Light Post-Anesthesia Care Unit after the nurse gave her too much fentanyl and dilestine. lotted, causing an opioid overdose. And the suit says that 18 days later, March 17th, Tussie passed away in hospice care. According to the lawsuit, Tussie's cause of death was evaluated by providers at Bethesda North Hospital. And they allegedly determined Mrs. Tussie suffered an anoxic brain injury caused by lack of oxygen to her brain following an opioid overdose and subsequent acute respiratory failure. The Bethesda North providers ruled out other causes of Mrs. Tussie's death, including causes that can result from surgical complications.

Rachel's death was completely unnecessary and caused by a journey night nurse recklessly overdosing Rachel on narcotics and by a journey like anesthesiologist abandoning their patient. I cannot express enough condolences for the Tussie family and no words can capture the weight of this loss. Rachel's death is something I will carry with me the rest of my life. So based on the allegations in this lawsuit, the post-op nurses caring for Tussie made a fatal mistake by administering these drugs at the speed and quantity that they did. But that is not all the surgeon claims contributed to her death. What do I mean? Quote, journey light nurses failed to properly respond to the overdose.

Dana Miller, one of the nurses listed in the suit, did not call 911 until 5.59 p.m. 4 minutes after she told Dr. Tork that a 911 call had already been made. During the 911 call, Miller expressed no urgency. Further, Miller failed to report that Mrs. Tussie had been given a high dose of opioids or to provide any detail on Mrs. Tussie's status beyond that. A patient was unresponsive after surgery by failing to inform the 911 dispatcher of the fentanyl and dilated. Miller prevented EMS dispatch from providing specific pharmacological guidance or preparing the incoming paramedics to immediately address the overdose. Miller then declined medical instructions from 911 dispatch, simply saying, we will be okay until you all get to us.

Thank you. At that time, nurse number one was improperly using a bag mask on Mrs. Tussie suffocating her. As a result of the opioid overdose and Journey Lights failure to competently respond to the overdose, Mrs. Tussie had no oxygen to her brain for more than six minutes. That is the direct quoted portion from the lawsuit. Again, his allegations, but my gosh, if these claims are true, that is devastating. That is a lot of time for the brain to go without oxygen, very concerning statements made, very concerning about the drugs.

And that is what the surgeon claims led to Tussie eventually becoming brain dead. And the allegation you can kind of see here is that Miller was allegedly not being transparent. That call with 911 is obviously going to be. by all accounts, a big part of this case, a big part of the evidence. So we'll hear what exactly was said and how. But here's an even more shocking claim. Quote, upon information and belief, meaning we don't have the concrete evidence yet to prove this, but during the course of litigation, we'll be able to establish this.

So based on the circumstances, quote, journey light staff, including nurse number one, snowed patients staying overnight by administering higher dose ranges of pain medications in order to keep the patients asleep so that they would not have to be bothered attending to patient care. The Journey Light nurses administered an overdose of opioids to Mrs. Tussie on the authority of Journey Light's Phase 1 order sheet signed off on as standing orders by a journey light anesthesia provider and anesthesia provider who left the building less than 30 minutes into Phase 1. So, according to this suit, the practice of snowing patients with pain meds to avoid care responsibilities was allegedly common practice at the facility. And the anesthesia

provider allegedly left the facility earlier than they were supposed to, which could have prevented something like this from happening. So now you're talking about an alleged pattern here, and this lawsuit will potentially bring in other alleged episodes and other patients. And you're establishing that connective tissue, that it wasn't just maybe what we'll hear a little bit later from a defense that this was just an accident, this was just a tragedy, there's no way this could have been prevented. here you're saying you're establishing an alleged chain of events and alleged actions and mistakes that show this could have been prevented, right? That's the allegation. That's the argument. And during the course of discovery, you're going to have an exchange of material and evidence,

so the practices and procedures are going to be uncovered. Now, the suit also alleges that the same nurse accused of snowing and improperly using a bag mask on Tussie was fired previously for, quote, incompetence and for failing to properly monitor overnight and post-anesthesia care unit patients, but was rehired by a relative who then allegedly fired a whistleblower about the nurse's actions. Again, allegations, not sure how they know this, or they're going to plan to prove it, but again, major allegation in addition to everything else that has been laid out on the part of the post-op staff.

Now, all of this, all of this is in addition to something else. This is where Dr. Torque claims that JourneyLight allegedly tried to cover up their errors while Tussie was in a vegetative state. Quote, Dr. Biloska, the anesthesiologist, said to Dr. Tork, quote, 100 of fentanyl was way too much for her. She required 100 the whole case. Dr. Torque then talked with Lisa Sprung, a Journey Light administrator and Tracy Evinz, Journey Lights clinical director.

In that conversation, they pointed to every possible reason except an opioid overdose, trying to blame Mrs. Tussie's condition on pulmonary embolism or lytocaine toxicity. They asked Dr. Tork to alter his operative note to support their story. Dr. Tork refused. And there are other allegations included in this lawsuit about covering the situation up. I'm talking about the surgical center allegedly switching out Tussie's nursing note with a more detailed, organized version, with different handwriting, a new phase one order sheet allegedly fabricating when and how much medication Tussie was given in post-op recovery in order to justify the dosages. And Dr. Tork

also alleged in the lawsuit that Journey Light had, quote, scrubbed the medical record to erase any mention of Nurse One's name or her individual nursing notes. Remember Nurse One allegedly involved in the medications and the bag mask. And also that Dr. Tork claims he was asked a second time to alter his operative note at the direction of Journey Light's owner and medical director. but he refused. After Dr. Tork refused to participate in these alleged cover-up plans, he claims Journey Light continued to try to pin the blame for their failures on him, while falsely claiming in public statements through counsel that its actions were well within the appropriate standards of care, that the staff responded by immediately implementing

life-saving protocols, and that state agencies found no discrepancies or errors regarding patient care or record-keeping. So this lawsuit also alleges that the same day Tussie died, one of Dr. Tork's employees received an email from JourneyLight intended for a JourneyLight co-owner and plastic surgeon, but instead sent to this person, stating, and this is big, that they were actively, quote, purging files. If they have this email, if that email does, in fact, report to show that, it's a problem for the defense. But we don't know that for sure. We don't know exactly. Again, allegations. They have not been found liable for anything. These are just claims. These are just allegations. They're going to have their opportunity to defend themselves.

And you'll hear what their, uh, what a response has been so far. But now that we've gone through the allegations from this filing, here is what Dr. Torque's team is suing for because he might be saying, well, what is his harm in all of this? Okay. What are his damages? So the first element, the first cause of action that he's suing for is breach of contract, that there was this contract between Dr. Torque and Journey Light. Now, for my reading of the complaint, it doesn't appear that there was a written contract per se, but as he characterizes it, it was one based on clinical privileges and of course of conduct and practice and patterns. So as a point of law, that could be trickier to establish that there's a contract. It's harder if you don't have a written agreement that lays out

the duties and the obligations and what breaches and what remedies are. But the basic idea here is that Dr. Torque is claiming, look, I brought my patients to you. You promised to provide appropriate care and services and equipment. Here, there was an offer. There was an acceptable. There was an of that offer with respect to Tussie's care. So key elements in whether there was a legally binding contract. And the allegation is, is Journey Light failed in its obligations. And also, there was a claim that Journey Light breached what we call in the law, Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing. It's basically a promise to act in good faith and engage in fair dealing by allegedly scrubbing Nurse One's info and making these false statements. And then there's

this. Quote, it was foreseeable to Journey Light and Dr. Tork. that any breach of Journey Light's obligation to provide qualified and competent staff and appropriate care in the post-anesthesia care unit could lead to a catastrophic outcome for Dr. Tork's patient and caused damage to Dr. Tork and his practice, including reputational harm, economic loss, and loss of patients. As a result of Journey Light's breach, Dr. Tork and his practice have suffered damages, including reputational harm, economic loss, and loss of patients. So that would be interesting to explore what was the effect on him after this tragedy? What did he lose? What did he suffer? It's an element of causation too, right? Because of what you did, this happen. You're talking a direct connection.

Just key, important legal principles to be thinking about. Count two, promissory estoppel. So this is a legal principle, legal doctrine that allows someone to sue to recover damages if they reasonably relied on a promise. So even if you don't have a formal contract, you reasonably relied on a promise to your detriment. Quote, Dr. Tork relied on this promise when he conducted Mrs. Tussie's surgery at the Journey Light Surgery Center on Wednesday, February 25th, 2026. Journey Light broke its promise by failing to provide qualified and competent post-anesthesia care unit staff for Mrs. Tussie's care, causing her death as a direct and proximate result of Dr. Tork's reliance on Journey Light's broken promises, Dr. Tork and his practice suffered.

damages, including but not limited to reputational harm, economic loss, and loss of patients. When you talk about proximate harm, it's like, this is the direct harm, there was no intervening cause, this is what happened. Another cause of action is breach of fiduciary duty. So this occurs when a person or entity is in a position of trust, trustee, corporate director, agent, things like that, fails to act in the best interests of another party. Sometimes they act in self-interest, right? That's the allegation. Quote, because Journey Light had control of the anesthesia providers at its facility, Dr. Tork had to place his trust and confidence in Journey Light and associated anesthesiologists to provide competent anesthesia care during surgery and in recovery. Journey Light breached its duty when it rehired an unqualified and incompetent nurse based on nepotism and placed that nurse in the post-anesthesia care unit.

Journey Light and associated anesthesiologists breached their duties when the anesthesia providers abandoned Mrs. Tussie before the end of phase one of post-surgery care and while she was still in the post-anesthesia care unit. And this claim also included the cover-up allegations on the part of Journey Light staff, along with their alleged efforts to seemingly or allegedly put blame on Dr. Torque for what happened to Tussie. Then you got this claim for negligent hiring retention and supervision. Now negligence, the idea here is that Journey Light owed Dr. Tork a duty. He entrusted them with his patients. That's where the duty was established.

And when you talk negligence, the elements that you have to prove are duty, breach of that duty, causation of the harm, and that there was harm and damages. Quote, Journey Light negligently rehired and retained Sprong's relative, Nurse 1, an unqualified and incompetent nurse. Journey Light negligently assigned Nurse 1 to the post-anesthesia care unit where she was not qualified or competent to provide care. Journey Light's knowledge of nurse 1's incompetence is evidenced by its post-incident conduct, specifically the intentional omission of her name and individual record from the patients,

medical charts, and the subsequent purging of her personnel file. Journeylight further acted negligently by failing to provide mandatory equipment required for safe supervision of post-operative patients. I had talked before about what they allegedly didn't have. The final count, spoliation of evidence. I think you can see where we're going with this. Quote, Journeylight knew that litigation over Mrs. Tussie's death was probable and that litigation likely would involve both Dr. Torque's practice and Journey Light.

Journey Light altered and destroyed portions of Mrs. Tussie's patient records, including the nursing node and the original Phase 1 orders. Now, this count also mentions the allegations of, you know, concealing nurse one's identity by removing her records, Journey Light's efforts to essentially or allegedly smear Dr. Tuscore Dr. Tussie's procedure after he refused to participate in what he calls this alleged cover-up. So Dr. Tork in his surgical center, they are asking for compensatory damages in an amount in excess of $25,000 for each claim in the complaint, meaning restore him back to the

position he was in before all of this happened, along with punitive damages. This is an amount to be determined at trial. These are punishment damages for really bad, egregious behavior. It can be quite costly, can get up there, and also lawyers fees. Now, the surgeon mentioned in the suit that Tussie's family will likely file a suit of their own. Somebody dropped the ball here. But I will tell you one thing, where they brought us, these people are absolutely freaking amazing. They have been amazing with my wife.

But it still doesn't change the fact that somebody dropped the ball and killed my wife. By the way, I'm still out all the money for the surgery. So attorneys from Monty Ellis and Lane, representing Tussie's family, issued the following statement following the lawsuit that was filed. by Dr. Torque, and it says, quote, first and foremost, our thoughts remain with Ms. Tussie's family as they continue to mourn a profound and irreplaceable loss. The Monty Ellis and Lane legal team is currently focused on a thorough and methodical investigation into the circumstances surrounding Rachel Tussie's death.

This process is intended not only to determine what occurred, but to ensure that any individuals or entities found to be responsible are held appropriately accountable. In response to Dr. Tork's allegations shared at the press conference, Monty Ellison Lane attorneys are filing temporary restraining orders to enjoin JourneyLight and associated anesthesiologists of Springfield, Inc. From further destroying, fabricating, or deleting evidence as it pertains to this case. Our firm is prepared to pursue aggressive legal action to seek appropriate remedies on behalf of the family. According to a report from Local 12 News out in Cincinnati, an attorney for Journey Light released the following statement in response to the lawsuit.

Quote, it is unfortunate and somewhat shocking that Dr. Torr claims to be the victim here due apparently to the loss of his reputation in a case where the Tussie family tragically lost Rachel. Journey Light had missed Tussie's chart reviewed independently by a board-certified anesthesiologist and a board-certified forensic pathologist. With regards to the medications given in the PACU by the Journey Light nurses, the doses of fentanyl and dilated were 100% inappropriate and administered within the standard of care. Anesthesia experts describe 100 micrograms of fentanyl as baby doses and appropriate for pain relief.

Further, her sudden unresponsiveness in the PACU was not opioid related as multiple doses of Narcan administered to Ms. Tussie had no effect whatsoever. The Ohio Board of Pharmacy audited Journey Light's medication records and Ms. Tussie's chart in the aftermath of this case and found no evidence of any errors or wrongdoing. Journeylight made multiple requests to the Tussie family through their family attorney that an autopsy be conducted after Rachel's passing so that the cause of death could be determined. The family refused our request so the true cause of her death will likely never be known. Pathology experts will opine that 50 to 60% of suspicious deaths later turn out to be sudden cardiac death, which is not a myocardial infraction. Pulmonary embolism or fat embolism cannot be ruled out either as the CPR chest compressions will break up and move any clot to the pretext.

peripheral vessels. Journey Life conveyed all of these potential causes to the Tussie family through their attorney, but the family again refused to follow an autopsy. Both PACU nurses staffed at Journey Light had years of experience, were ACLS certified, former ER nurses in local Cincinnati hospital emergency rooms, and had participated in hundreds of codes. They both undertook heroic measures to try to save Rachel's life. Journey Light flatly denies that any records were altered or purged and any allegations that they attempted to cover up Rachel's case are false and defamatory. By the way, point of law, you can't really sue Dr. Tork, let's say for defamation, for strictly the lawsuit, for the claims of the lawsuit. The law prevents that,

otherwise it would chill anybody from filing a lawsuit. However, potentially anything that is said outside of a lawsuit, like in an interview or in a press conference, that potentially could be fair game. Just a point of law. Now, in terms of Dr. Torque's lawsuit, look, we're in the early stages. It's very difficult to ascertain what is happening, how this happened. Dr. Tork lays out his allegations. On one hand, you could say, compelling narrative, but we have to see what the evidence is. And the defendant has their own version right now, right? Their own defense, that there was no deviation from the standard of care, that the cause of death is going to be an issue. You may see a battle of experts as to what caused the death here. And in the end, this could

be a case of someone being held responsible or this was a tragic accident. Difficult to say, we laid out the allegations. We'll continue to follow it. It's all we have for you right now here on sidebar, everybody. Thank you so much for joining us. And as always, please subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever you should get your podcast. You can also check us out on NBC's Peacock as well. If you want to follow me, X Instagram, my News Nation show, Jesse Weber Live, Monday through Friday, 11 p.m. Eastern. I'll see you next time, everybody.