Southfield, Mich., Fire Chief Johnny Menifee holds a news conference on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020, in Southfield, Mich., in response to questions about a woman, Timesha Beauchamp, who was found alive at a funeral home. A Southfield emergency medical crew said there were no signs of life when they were called to Beauchamp's home on Aug. 23, 2020. (AP Photo/Ed White). Inset: Timesha Leshay Beauchamp (via O.H. Pye, III Funeral Home).
A city in Michigan will fork over millions to a family after paramedics mistakenly pronounced a woman dead — only for her to be found alive when her body bag was opened at a funeral home.
Southfield, a Detroit suburb, agreed to pay the family of Timesha Beauchamp $3.25 million as part of a gross negligence lawsuit settlement, the Associated Press reports.
Beauchamp, 20, had cerebral palsy and was cared for primarily by her mother. On Aug. 23, 2020, Beauchamp's mother found the woman unresponsive and called 911. Four EMTs responded to the call, attempted CPR and ventilation, found the resuscitation efforts unsuccessful, and declared Beauchamp dead. They next transported Beauchamp to a funeral home, but when an embalmer opened the bag, they discovered Beauchamp was still alive. Beauchamp was taken to a nearby hospital and placed on a ventilator, where she lived for six additional weeks before dying from a brain injury.
"We recognize that no resolution can undo the profound tragedy that occurred on August 23, 2020, or ease the pain experienced by Ms. Beauchamp's family," Southfield said in a statement to the AP. "This case involved extraordinarily difficult circumstances that arose in the complex world of a global pandemic."
According to family members, the settlement brings a measure of justice.
"She was put in a situation she never should have been in," Steven Hurbis, an attorney for Beauchamp's family, told the AP.
As Law&Crime previously reported, representatives for Beauchamp's estate brought a lawsuit against the city of Southfield, Michigan, and the individual emergency medical workers for gross negligence and violation of Beauchamp's constitutional rights. The case has already made its way through multiple courts, including to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, which ruled in July 2023 that the EMTs were entitled to qualified immunity from the estate's constitutional claims.
But a Michigan appeals court ruled unanimously in July 2024 to revive the suit.
On appeal from the dismissal, a three-judge panel of the Michigan Court of Appeals reversed and found that the trial court had been premature in dismissing the case before discovery had been conducted.
Primarily at issue is the determination of proximate causation. Beauchamp's estate alleged that Beauchamp's death and other injuries were caused by the first responders. The plaintiffs argued that had the EMTs not erroneously declared Beauchamp dead, her family members could have sought additional medical care for her and avoided transporting her in a body bag.
The appeals court did affirm the trial court's dismissal of claims against two police officer defendants who were called to the scene, noting that the officers' conduct could not have been the cause of Beauchamp's injuries when the four EMTs were actually the ones responsible for handling her medical care.
Elura Nanos contributed to this report
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