(WWJ) A $50 million lawsuit has been filed against Southfield EMS in the case of a living woman who was mistakenly declared dead.
Timesha Beauchamp, 20, opened her eyes in a body bag at a Detroit funeral home after she was pronounced dead at her home back in August.
As a funeral home employee unzipped the body bag to prepare Beaushamp for embalming, he discovered that she was breathing, and very much alive.
Attorney Geoffery Fieger, hired by the young woman's family, filed the suit in federal court, claiming Beauchamp's civil rights were violated. He said precious time was wasted taking Beauchamp to the funeral home rather than the hospital, where she could have been receiving critical medical treatment.
Fieger says a similar suit could also be filed later in state court.
“The State of Michigan has suspended the licenses of the EMS employees involved," Fieger said, in a statement. "All the telemetry evidence shows that Timesha was alive when EMS declared her dead. As a result of being declared dead, she was left without oxygen for four hours, suffering severe hypoxic brain damage. Timesha has been hospitalized since these events and remains in critical condition. All of this could have been avoided, had more care been taken.”
Southfield Fire Chief Johnny Menifee has said EMTs checked Beauchamp's vital signs on three separate occasions, but each time Beauchamp "didn't show any signs of life.
Menifee said all involved "feel terrible" about what happened. Adding that, although it's "unique" and "unsettling" set of circumstances, he does believe proper protocols were followed.