Poisoning victim’s family sues hospital, alleged source

The family of a computer engineer who was fatally poisoned has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit alleging that Bristol-Myers Squibb and the University Medical Center at Princeton were negligent and contributed to his death.

The lawsuit, made public Thursday, comes less than four months after Tianle Li, 40, a chemist who worked for the pharmaceutical giant for a decade, was charged with the murder of her husband, Xiaoye Wang, 39, a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania who came from China to the United States seeking a better life.

Wang and Li met at Penn, and they had a 2-year-old son, Isaac. They were going through a divorce that was to be finalized in January.

Although Wang, who worked as a software engineer in New York, moved to his own apartment, he returned to the couple's Monroe home to help care for the toddler, said Brian Fritz of the Saltz, Mongeluzzi, Barrett & Bendeski law firm in Philadelphia, which filed the suit.

"He wanted to raise his son here so he could have the same opportunities," Fritz said. Wang told his family members, most of whom live in China, about his marital problems and said his wife had threatened him. He assured them he had things under control, Fritz said. They were shocked to learn of his death.

On Jan. 14, the day the couple's divorce was to be finalized, Wang went to the emergency room of University Medical Center, complaining of abdominal pain and numbness in his hands and feet. He was admitted, and doctors were stumped.

Wang told doctors he suspected Li had poisoned him, as he said she had threatened to do in the past, the lawsuit says. Doctors dismissed the concerns as paranoia while Li continued to visit him in the hospital.

On Jan. 18, doctors tested Wang's urine for thallium and later confirmed that Wang had ingested the chemical, formerly used as a rat poison and banned for consumer purchase in the 1970s.

Although Wang insisted that his wife continued to poison him in the hospital, the lawsuit alleges that no one at the hospital restricted her visits or contacted police.

On Jan. 23, Wang began foaming at the mouth and was unresponsive, the lawsuit says. On Jan. 25, an internist on call contacted New Jersey Poison Control. The next day, Wang died.

Amy Franco Rodriguez, a spokeswoman for the Princeton Health Care System, said, "We're not able to comment at this time." The lawsuit names numerous doctors and health-care workers.

Thallium, odorless and colorless, is used for medical purposes at Bristol-Myers Squibb in Lawrenceville, N.J., where Li allegedly signed out several bottles, authorities said.

"BMS deserves to be held responsible because it was the source of the murder weapon," Fritz said. "Based on their own records, BMS knew that Li had displayed erratic and threatening behavior in the workplace."

The lawsuit alleges that the pharmaceutical company failed to properly monitor the chemical and permitted Li access, even though other employees complained about her uncontrollable anger.

Laura Hortas, a spokeswoman for Bristol-Myers Squibb, said the company could not comment.

"Our condolences go out to the family of Xiaoye Wang," Hortas said. "Bristol-Myers Squibb has provided assistance to law enforcement authorities during the investigation of Mr. Wang's death."

Fritz said Li once threatened to poison a boyfriend, who filed a police complaint. One of her coworkers at Bristol-Myers Squibb also filed a complaint about threats, and the company took measures to make sure the two did not work in the same area, the lawsuit said.

Li was arrested shortly after her husband died, as she was planning to leave the United States to go to China with her son.

Her attorney did not return a call seeking comment Thursday.

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