According to Yahoo News, complications from heart surgery were officially identified as the cause of death when Neil Armstrong passed away in 2012. Seven years later, additional dubious circumstances have surfaced. The New York Times reported that it had obtained 93 pages of correspondence between the family of the most well-known astronaut in history and the little Ohio hospital where he underwent treatment and surgery. According to the publications, Armstrong's family vowed to expose the hospital for medical negligence.
The Scandal
To avert a scandal: the parties reached a secret agreement. The hospital agreed to pay $6 million, of which $5 million went to Rick and Mark Armstrong's two boys in exchange for their silence. The threat to go public around the 45th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission, during which Armstrong became the first person to walk foot on the moon, was made by Mark's lawyer wife Wendy; in a July 2014 email.
Bertha Helmick, a lawyer for Armstrong's grandkids, contended in probate court proceedings that "no institution wants to be remotely identified with the death of one of America's greatest heroes," according to the Times.
However, Armstrong's widow, Carol, made it clear that she was not a party to the pact.
The case included the hospital in Fairfield, Ohio, which is now a part of the Bon Secours Mercy Health network of hospitals, choosing not to quickly move Armstrong to surgery when he started to exhibit rapid internal bleeding a few days after a cardiac bypass.
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