Today is the two-year anniversary of the very sudden and very shocking death of comedian BERNIE MAC.
--And his wife, Rhonda McCullough, has filed a WRONGFUL DEATH lawsuit against one of Bernie's doctors.
--Bernie suffered from a chronic autoimmune disease called sarcoidosis. One of the symptoms of the disease is skin lesions. Bernie went to a dermatologist named Dr. Rene Earles to have those treated. (--Rene is a dude, by the way. It's a French thing.) (???)
--Well, Bernie went to Dr. Earles on July 17th of 2008. On August 9th, he died of heart failure during a bout of pneumonia. And Rhonda believes Dr. Earles totally missed the signs.
--She says that when Bernie visited him, his vital signs were out of whack, and he was having trouble breathing. She says it should have been obvious to a medical professional like Dr. Earles that Bernie was headed for respiratory failure.
--But Dr. Earles kept Bernie at his office for more than NINE HOURS . . . giving him oxygen and letting him rest . . . before sending him to the hospital.
--Therefore, he's negligent for not getting Bernie to a hospital right away. Rhonda even has an affidavit from a physician who says that if Bernie had gotten immediate care, he would be alive today.
--Rhonda is seeking at least $50,000 in damages.
--Dr. Earles doesn't think he did anything wrong, obviously. And he points out that Bernie didn't die until TWO WEEKS after he treated him.
--He adds, quote, "Look, Bernie was my patient. Bernie was my friend. We became extremely close . . . we were like brothers."