The family of a man whose life support was incorrectly switched off in a tragic case of mistaken identity are demanding answers from the hospital where he died.
David Wells, 69, was placed on life support in Washington State hospital after he choked on a piece of steak while eating dinner in Vancouver, Washington.
PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center, VancouverGoogle Maps
But a mix-up at the hospital led staff to contact the family of his hospital roommate, Michael Beehler, 60, instead of Wells’ own relatives and told them:
The hospital told Debbie Danielson, Michael’s sister: “He’s basically brain dead.
She was asked: “Do you want us to keep him on life support or do you want to pull the plug?”
Faced with an excruciating decision, Debbie and her husband, Gary, agreed to end life support.
But the man they had authorized to die was not their brother at all – it was David Wells, who was sharing the same hospital room.
Michael Beehler was in fact alive and well.
An incorrect death notice even appeared for Michael in the local newspaper reading: “Michael A. Beehler, 60, Vancouver, died August 9, 2021”.
Debbie said: “That whole week was kind of a blur.
“Trying to come up with funeral arrangements, letting family members know that he passed away.”
The following week, she received a phone call turned her world upside down.
It was Michael on the line, who she thought to be dead.
Debbie recalled saying: “You can’t be alive. You’re dead.”
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