HOSPITAL FINGERED AFTER DEAD WOMAN’S BLOOD TESTS.
BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2026 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — A Boca Raton woman went to a routine doctor’s appointment for carpal tunnel syndrome and arthritis in her right hand. She never came home. Now her family is suing Boca Raton Regional Hospital to get her blood samples — and find out why she died.
Helena Goldstein went to the Paley Institute in Boca Raton on January 15, 2026, for what was described as a routine checkup. During the visit, she received a right thumb joint injection. She immediately lost consciousness and went into cardiac and respiratory arrest. Goldstein was transported by ambulance to Boca Raton Regional Hospital, where she was treated for several days before dying on January 19, 2026.
The hospital has confirmed it holds 35 separate blood samples taken from Goldstein between January 15 and January 18 — the only known samples collected after the injection. Her son Charles Goldstein, appointed personal representative of her estate, has retained a private medical examiner to conduct an independent autopsy and blood analysis. According to a petition filed Monday in Palm Beach County Circuit Court, the hospital has refused to release the samples unless the family signs a release that attorneys say could be read to absolve the hospital of any liability in Goldstein’s death. The family says it has already provided a valid HIPAA release on more than one occasion.
The lawsuit, filed by Miami attorney Ignacio Segurola of The Ferraro Law Firm, asks the court to order the hospital to hand over the blood samples through a legal mechanism known as a “Pure Bill of Discovery” — a tool used when a potential plaintiff needs evidence before a full lawsuit is filed in order to identify what claims may exist and against whom.
Boca Raton Regional owner Baptist Health has not filed a response to the suit as of Tuesday afternoon.
