FILE - This Dec. 5, 1968 file photo shows the rock band Jefferson Airplane as they pose in their Pacific Heights, San Francisco apartment. They are, from left: Marty Balin, Grace Slick, Spencer Dryden, Paul Kantner, Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady. A lawsuit filed by Balin, 77, filed against Mount Sinai Beth Israel hospital says the singer and guitarist lost part of his tongue and has a paralyzed vocal cord because of the procedure done after he was hospitalized for an emergency heart surgery in 2016. Lawyers for Balin filed the suit on Thursday, Aug. 16, 2018, in federal court in Manhattan, seeking unspecified damages. (AP Photo, File)
Republished August 17, 2018 - 11:27 AM
Original Publication Date August 17, 2018 - 9:41 AM
NEW YORK - A co-founder of Jefferson Airplane is accusing a New York City hospital of destroying his musical career with a botched tracheotomy.
A lawsuit filed by Marty Balin against Mount Sinai Beth Israel hospital says the singer and guitarist lost part of his tongue and has a paralyzed vocal cord because of the procedure done after he was hospitalized for emergency heart surgery in 2016.
The 77-year-old Balin helped form Jefferson Airplane in San Francisco in the mid-1960s. The band's signature hits include "Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit."
Lawyers for Balin sued Thursday in federal court in Manhattan. The suit seeks unspecified damages.
There was no immediate response on Friday to a message seeking comment from hospital officials.
News from © The Associated Press, 2018