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Celeb Chef's Widow Sues NJ Hospital Where He Died Over Leaked Info

The widow of a celebrity chef who died of COVID is suing the hospital where he stayed alleging they released private details regarding his illness for "gossip" — while she struggled to get word on his condition from hospital staff.

Floyd and Barkha Cardoz.

Floyd and Barkha Cardoz.

Photo Credit: Floyd Cardoz Facebook

Floyd Cardoz, known for his roles at Indian fine dining restaurants Tabla and Bombay Bread Bar in Manhattan, came back from India via Frankfurt on March 8 “feeling feverish,” he said in an Instagram post.

Cardoz — who appeared on Season 2 of David Chang's "Ugly Delicious" — admitted himself to a hospital in New York thinking he had the flu, said Lou Palma, Cardoz’s close friend. A week later, he was admitted to Mountainside. On March 25, 2020, he died of COVID complications.

Cardoz's widow, Barkha Cardoz, is alleging in the suit  — filed in Essex County Superior Court by Jensen Law Firm— that the hospital focused on her husband's celebrity status in the news cycle.

A spokesperson from the hospital has been declining comment to news websites citing pending litigation.

Barkha placed "innumerable increasingly desperate" calls to the hospital, the suit alleges. However, no doctor of staff member ever returned until his third day in the hospital — but with limited information.

She was told March 20 that Floyd was being placed on a ventilator, and on March 24, got a call from the hospital asking for consent to put him on dialysis due to kidney issues. The following day, doctors called Barkha asking for permission to cease resuscitation, the suit says. 

While the chef was in the hospital, his personal information was leaked to the public, leaving his wife stunned. In May, she filed a complaint asking the hospital why that was, and got a reply from hospital CEO John Fromhold saying that her husband's stay would be used as a "learning learning experience for the residents and employees," Montclair Local says.

Last month, the hospital said they launched an investigation into a staff member who told her family about the chef's stay while he was in the hospital's care, the outlet said. The hospital alleges it took the "appropriate action" in dealing with the staff member and additional training would be provided to staff going forward.

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