After Dr. Yvon Nazaire moved to Georgia in 2006, he was granted a medical license and hired as a state prison medical director despite a litany of questions about his abilities to care for patients when he worked as an emergency room physician in New York. The medical board in that state censured and reprimanded him, and wrongful death lawsuits further challenged the quality of care he provided. These are the allegations in those cases:
• August 1999: A patient came to the emergency room of a New York hospital with a collapsed lung and fluid building around the lungs. Nazaire failed to appropriately read the patient's x-ray and failed to diagnose, evaluate or treat the conditions. Instead, he inappropriately discharged the patient the same day. Patient outcome: not disclosed
• March 2000: A woman came to the emergency room with lower abdominal pain and vaginal bleeding, and a test showed she was pregnant. Nazaire failed to diagnose, evaluate or treat the patient and discharged her without ruling out a diagnosis of ectopic (tubal) pregnancy. Patient outcome: not disclosed
• August 2000: A diabetic patient came to the emergency room with shortness of breath. Nazaire failed to appropriately diagnose, evaluate or treat her, and instead inappropriately discharged her the same day. Patient outcome: not disclosed
• June 2002: A patient came to the emergency room with a lump and tenderness in her lower right area of the abdomen. Nazaire failed to diagnose, evaluate or treat the condition. Patient outcome: not disclosed
• July 2002: Tommaso Todaro, 28, died of a heart attack after being discharged from the emergency room. He had come to the hospital because of chest pain and vomiting, but Nazaire discharged him with two antihistamine drugs. A wrongful death lawsuit claimed that Nazaire failed to recognize the significance of Todaro's symptoms and complaints and failed to obtain appropriate diagnostic studies. Patient died
• September 2002: Madge Errica Rowe, 61, died from a pulmonary embolism the day after she was treated by Nazaire in the emergency room. A malpractice lawsuit said that while Nazaire held himself out as a specialist in emergency medicine, he ignored signs, symptoms and complaints and failed to promptly and adequately treat her. Patient died
• August 2003: Connie Carieri, 95, died after seeking treatment in the emergency room of a hospital where Nazaire worked. A lawsuit, filed pro se by her son, alleged she died as a result of Nazaire's inattention to a faulty ventilator. Patient died
• December 2003: Lissette Rodriguez, 34, died from a pulmonary embolism the day after she was treated by Nazaire. A lawsuit claimed negligence on the part of Nazaire as well as the hospital's emergency medicine provider and the hospital. The case was settled out of court for $3 million. The insurance carrier for Nazaire and his emergency medical provider service were to pay $2,550,000 of that amount. Patient died
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