ANN ARBOR, Mich. (WWJ) -- A 14-year-old Washtenaw County teen has died after his family's court case to keep him on life support was dismissed Tuesday.
The family of Bobby Reyes had been fighting for the right to move him from C.S. Mott Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor to another hospital, but Washtenaw County Circuit Judge David Swartz dismissed the family's case, saying he has no power to intervene.
Reyes, of Ash Township, suffered a severe asthma attack last month and had been on life support at the hospital on the campus of the University of Michigan since Sept. 21 after a test declared him brain dead. The family filed a case against the hospital in circuit court, but since the hospital is part of the public university it is considered part of the state government and lawsuits filed against the state must be filed in the Court of Claims.
Swartz said his "hands were tied" in the case and expressed sympathy for the family.
WWJ's Charlier Langton reports Reyes' family gathered in his hospital room on Tuesday, where he was taken off life support.
"I was able to talk earlier to the family. They're very distraught about what happened. There's nothing much they can do at this point in time except reevaluate," Langton said on WWJ.
The University of Michigan Medical Center released a statement Tuesday, offering condolences to the family. The statement says a second brain death examination was conducted late Tuesday morning and he was pronounced dead and mechanical ventilation was discontinued after the family gathered in his room.
"The brain death examination showed Bobby had no detectable brain or brain stem function. Further testing -- including an electrical encephalogram (EEG) and a cerebral blood flow study -- detected no electrical activity and no blood flow to Bobby's brain," the statement said. "By law in Michigan, an individual is dead who has sustained either irreversible cessation of circulatory and respiratory functions or irreversible cessation of all function of the entire brain, including the brain stem."
The medical center says continuing medical interventions "was inappropriate" after Reyes had suffered brain death and violates the professional integrity of Michigan Medicine's clinicians.
"His caregivers at C.S. Mott Children's Hospital have diligently worked with the family to help arrange to transfer Bobby to another facility, contacting more than 20 different facilities. Every facility contacted declined to take on Bobby's care," the statenebt said. "Our team at Michigan Medicine sympathizes with the Reyes family and is committed to providing support in this difficult time."
