Patient killed in hospital mix-up as life support plug is pulled by wrong family after a bite of steak put him in a coma
A hospital that permitted the wrong family to remove a stranger from life support in a horrific mix-up is being questioned by two families.
A hospital misidentified patient David Wells as his roommate, which led to his death in a medical error.
On August 8, 2021, Wells, 69, choked on a piece of steak during supper and was sent to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver.
Mike Beehler, his roommate, said that Wells was unconscious and not breathing when he contacted 911.
Beehler told KGW, an NBC station, that he tumbled over a chair.
At the time, I believed he was dead.
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Wells, however, was alive. Staff mistook him for Beehler, who had prior medical records on file at the hospital, and he remained unconscious.
Wells was placed on life support by the hospital while being treated as Beehler.
The staff then called Beehler’s sister to let him know that her brother’s condition seemed to have taken a catastrophic turn.
‘He’s virtually brain dead,’ Debbie Danielson stated.
“Do you want to turn off the life support or do you want us to keep him on it?”
Devastated, Danielson made the decision to end what she believed to be her brother’s life support at age 60.
After that, the hospital sent the body to a funeral parlor, where Danielson was questioned about organ donation, cremation, and last wishes.
The entire week was somewhat of a haze. attempting to arrange a funeral and informing family members of his passing, Danielson said.
She was taken aback when her brother actually called her a week later.
You can’t be alive, I said. You’ve passed away! Danielson clarified.
For someone we don’t even know, we took decisions that could change our lives.
The terrible knowledge of the error became clear.
I should be dead, and he is dead. “Who knows what’s happening,” Beehler remarked.
According to Gary, Danielson’s husband, “We made life-ending decisions for a person we don’t even know.”
The medical examiner’s office subsequently informed Wells’ son, Shawn Wells, about his passing after identifying the body through fingerprints as belonging to Wells rather than Beehler.
In essence, they informed me that my father was experiencing a medical emergency. Shawn stated that he had been declared deceased.
Shawn, however, was not informed of the confusion by officials until he was called by a KGW reporter more than two years later.
Shawn remarked, “I can’t express how poorly they handled this.
I will never be able to reverse that choice.
MISTAKEN IDENTITY
According to the distraught son, Wells had a tattoo on his arm that would have helped identify him.
Rather, strangers removed him off life support.
Shawn clarified that it would have been a highly noticeable mark on his physique.
“Even if there was any slight confusion about his identity, I think it would have been quickly resolved.”
Shawn claimed that the hospital never offered him an apology or an explanation.
A request for comment from The U.S. Sun was not answered by PeaceHealth.
FAMILY’S LAWSUIT
The hospital acknowledged that they had attempted to “strengthen our patient identification processes, along with our continued collaboration with multiple community agencies involved in healthcare, including EMS.”
It is regrettable that we are unable to provide any information regarding this matter because PeaceHealth is embroiled in litigation,” PeaceHealth spokesperson Debra Carnes told the site.
Beehler and his family sued the hospital on December 3, alleging that the confusion caused them emotional and mental suffering.
Shawn is a plaintiff in this case as well.
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It’s unsettling. Shawn remarked, “I’m not sure if I’ll be able to move past it.”
“They dropped the ball so egregiously.”