The Girl Who Died Twice

At ll:43 P.M. on Sunday, March 4, l984, l8-year-old Libby Zion was admitted to New York Hospital with a fever and minor flu symptoms. Eight hours later she was dead and her father, New York writer and luminary Sidney Zion, embarked on a fiery quest for answers and retribution that has rocked the foundations of medical education and practice in America and has precipitated sweeping reforms in the laws governing hospitals and residency programs. The Girl Who Died Twice, written with the participation of both the Zion family and New York Hospital, is the first in-depth examination of this landmark case, which recently inspired a new round of headlines as the bitter legal battle between the family and the hospital came to a head in court -- and on Court TV. But last February's stunning jury verdict also raised troubling issues of patient responsibility in the case, and it left unresolved life and death issues about medical care in this country that have yet to be fully addressed.Here, from acclaimed investigative writer Natalie Robins, is the impeccably researched inside story of this compelling modern tragedy, based on interviews with many of the principals, their friends and associates, and hundreds of medical experts and educators. Robins delivers the disturbing truth about Libby Zion's life and death and about how our hospitals really work. At once gripping personal drama and fascinating medical mystery, her report is vitally important reading for anyone interested in a true understanding of who's in charge of our health.