According to Miami Herald and KGW.
David Wells died on August 9, 2021 after his hospital roommate, the family of Michael Beehler, allowed Beehler to be taken off life support on August 8, 2021 at PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver, Wash.
Wells, who was 69, arrived at a Vancouver medical facility by ambulance on August 8, 2021, after choking on a piece of steak, losing consciousness and stopping to breathe. Wells was then misidentified as Beehler, and the hospital contacted Beehler’s sister, Debbie Danielson, to decide whether the “brain-dead” patient should remain on machines, Danielson told KGW.
After making the difficult decision to end the life of what she thought was her brother, she mourned him, wrote his newspaper obituary and arranged his funeral. But then she found out Beehler was alive when he called her.
“I said, ‘You can’t be alive. You’re dead!’ ” Danielson recalled to KGW.
Family grieving after being told a loved one has died in an accident. Then they found out that she was ‘alive and well’
PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center.
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The siblings reported the incident to the authorities. In addition, the Clark County Medical Examiner (CCME) took Wells’ body and used fingerprints to confirm that he was not Beehler. Soon after, CCME notified Wells’ son, Shawn Wells.
“They told me that it was a medical emergency regarding my father. He was pronounced dead,” Shawn told KGW, stating that the medical examiner, hospital or funeral home did not inform him of the misidentification of his father’s body.
Shawn did not learn of the misidentification until KGW’s 2023 report, according to a previous separate lawsuit. “I can’t find the words for how badly they handled this,” Shawn said, according to KGW. “I will never be able to take that decision back.”
Following the 2023 news, the Washington Department of Health investigated the incident and found multiple violations. The hospital failed to “develop a process to ensure that staff are trained to verify patient identification,” “ensure supervision of staff responsible for verifying patient identification,” and “have a reliable method to identify each patient presenting for care.”
Neither violation was cited because the hospital made the necessary improvements, according to the investigation.
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Shawn, Beehler and Danielson are suing the hospital for negligence and infliction of severe emotional pain, according to Miami Herald. They are also suing CCME, American Medical Response Ambulance and All County Cremation and Burial for negligence in a separate lawsuit.
The hospital issued a statement to McClatchy News: “PeaceHealth has worked diligently to strengthen our patient identification processes, which has included continued collaboration with multiple community agencies involved in health care, including EMS.”
“Since PeaceHealth is involved in litigation, we are unfortunately unable to share more facts about this situation,” the statement continued. “Our unwavering commitment to caring for our community is stronger than ever.”
In addition, company spokeswoman Debra Carnes said the alleged incident occurred at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Representatives for PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center, American Medical Response Ambulance Service, Inc., CMEE, All County Cremation and Burial and attorneys for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on Tuesday.
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Source: HIS Education