Mom sues Amazon One Medical after ‘virtual doctor’s appointment leads to husband’s death’

A mother of two is suing Jeff Bezos’ Amazon One Medical for negligence after claiming a “botched” video consultation led to her husband’s death.

In a lawsuit, Suzanne Wong of Oakland, California, reveals that her husband Philip signed up for One Medical membership to receive treatment for diabetes and a serious flu-like illness.

The biotech employee had an initial consultation, but when his symptoms worsened, he contacted the assigned doctors and was booked for a same-day video appointment.

The court document states that during that visit, Mr Tong “was short of breath and had blue feet, among other symptoms, but was simply told to take an inhaler.”

Hours later, the 45-year-old was rushed to the emergency department at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, where he “collapsed in the waiting room and died.”

The filing claims that “with a reasonable degree of medical certainty,” had Mr. Tong received “proper care, treatment and follow-up” at his appointment with Amazon One Medical on December 18, 2023, he would have survived.

Mrs Tong, who works as a family lawyer, said her husband’s death was a complete shock.

At his funeral on December 28, she told friends and family: ‘I think we’re all in shock at the moment.

‘I don’t think anyone expected that a 45-year-old man with the flu would suddenly die. We wanted to take these little kids everywhere. We wanted to show them the world.

“And to have him kidnapped so quickly and so unexpectedly, there are no words.”

Ms. Tong’s lawsuit, which names her two young daughters as plaintiffs, was filed in Alameda County Superior Court in October and also accuses Alta Bates Summit Medical Center of malpractice.

It alleges that staff at both the hospital and One Medical “negligently, recklessly and carelessly failed to properly monitor, evaluate, control, advise, perform, manage, supervise, treat or care for Mr Tong.”

In turn, the filing says this series of events and Mr. Tong’s death caused “extreme suffering, emotional distress and psychological trauma” to the family he left behind.

It appears to be the first wrongful death lawsuit filed against One Medical.

Amazon completed its $3.9 billion acquisition of the primary care organization in February 2023.

The e-commerce giant said at the time that the acquisition was a key part of its growing healthcare business, which includes online drugstore Amazon Pharmacy and a patient-to-doctor messaging service called Amazon Clinic.

One Medical, owned by San Francisco-based 1Life Healthcare Inc, has more than 800,000 members and more than 200 medical offices in more than 20 markets.

The membership-based service offers 24-hour virtual care and in-person visits.

Amazon offers its Prime members a deeply discounted membership with customers can add the virtual healthcare service to their plans for just $9 per month – or $99 per year.

This is compared to the standard cost of $16.59 per month, or $199 per year.

Prime members can add up to five additional family members to their One Medical plan for $6 per month for each family member.

In-person visits to a clinic are billed through insurance or out-of-pocket.

Amazon and other tech giants, including Walmart and Costco, have been working to break into the telehealth world for years — with varying degrees of success.

In many cases, healthcare privacy laws have hindered rapid growth and adoption.

Amazon runs its own online pharmacy, which emerged from its $750 million acquisition of prescription drug company PillPack in 2018.

Haven, a joint venture between Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase to reduce healthcare costs for employees, was dissolved in 2021 after three years.

In August 2021, the company also shuttered its Amazon Care telehealth service amid broader cost cuts.

But in November 2022, it launched Amazon Clinic – a marketplace where customers can make text or video visits to doctors.

It’s essentially a partnership between the company and a series of digital health startups.

Before the sale, anti-monopoly groups called on the Federal Trade Commission to block Amazon’s purchase of the company, arguing it would jeopardize patient privacy and give the online retailer more market dominance.

The purchase of One Medical was the first acquisition of former Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, ​​who took over from founder Jeff Bezos in 2021.

Mr. Jassy saw healthcare as a growth opportunity for the company.

‘Customers want and deserve better, and that is what One Medical has been working on and innovating for more than ten years.

“Together we believe we can make the healthcare experience easier, faster, more personalized and more convenient for everyone,” Mr. Jassy said in a statement at the time.

DailyMail.com has contacted One Medical for comment on Mr Tong’s case.

The next court hearing is scheduled for March.