A mother of two is suing Jeff Bezos’ Amazon One Medical for negligence after claiming a “botched” video consultation caused her husband’s death.
In a court filing, 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 worker had had an initial consultation, but when his symptoms worsened, he contacted his assigned doctors and was scheduled for a video appointment for the same day.
The court document states that on that visit, “in addition to other symptoms, Mr. Tong had difficulty breathing and had blue feet, but was simply told to take an inhaler.”
Hours later, the 45-year-old man was rushed to the emergency department at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, where he “collapsed in the waiting room and expired.”
The filing states that “with a reasonable degree of medical certainty,” had Mr. Tong received “appropriate 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 came as a complete shock.
At his funeral on December 28, she told friends and family: “I think we’re all in shock right now.”
Philip Wong of Oakland, California (pictured above with his family) signed up for One Medical membership to receive treatment for diabetes and a serious flu-like illness. later he died
“I don’t think anyone expected a 45-year-old man who had the flu to suddenly die. We wanted to take these little kids everywhere. We wanted to show them the world.
“And to have him taken away so quickly, so unexpectedly… there are no words.”
Ms. Tong’s lawsuit, which includes her two young daughters listed as plaintiffs, was filed in Alameda County Superior Court in October and also accuses Alta Bates Summit Medical Center of negligence.
It claims that staff at both the hospital and One Medical “negligently, recklessly and carelessly failed to adequately monitor, assess, control, counsel, perform, manage, supervise, treat or care for” Mr Tong.
In turn, the document says that this chain 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 to be filed against One Medical.
Amazon closed its $3.9 billion acquisition of the primary care organization in February 2023.
The e-commerce giant said at the time that the purchase was a key component of its growing healthcare business, which includes its online pharmacy 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.
Their membership-based service offers 24-hour virtual care, as well as in-person visits.
Amazon offers its Prime members a deeply discounted membership, with customers They will be able to add the virtual healthcare service to their subscriptions for just $9 a month, or $99 a year.
This compares 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 subscription for $6 per month for each family member.
In-person visits to a clinic are billed through insurance or out of pocket.
For years, Amazon and other tech giants, including Walmart and Costco, have been working to enter the telehealth sphere, with varying degrees of success.
It appears to be the first wrongful death lawsuit filed against One Medical
In many cases, healthcare-related privacy laws have prevented 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 employee healthcare costs, dissolved in 2021 after three years.
In August 2021, the company also closed its Amazon Care telehealth service amid broader cost-cutting efforts.
But in November 2022 it launched Amazon Clinic, a marketplace where customers can visit doctors via text message or video.
This is effectively a partnership between the company and a number of digital health startups.
Before the sale, antitrust groups asked the Federal Trade Commission to block Amazon’s purchase of the company, arguing it would jeopardize patient privacy and give the online retailer more dominance in the market.
The purchase of One Medical was the first acquisition made by former Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, who replaced founder Jeff Bezos in 2021.
Jassy saw healthcare as a growth opportunity for the company.
‘Customers want and deserve better, and that’s what One Medical has been working on and innovating for over a decade.
“Together we believe we can make the healthcare experience easier, faster, more personal and more convenient for everyone,” Jassy said in a statement at the time.
DailyMail.com has contacted One Medical for comment on Mr Tong’s case.
The next court meeting is scheduled for March.