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.
