A Detroit suburb has agreed to a $3.25 million settlement with the family of a young woman who was pronounced dead at home but was gasping for air and opening her eyes when she died. The body bag was unzipped At the funeral home.
Southfield paramedics were accused of gross negligence in how they responded to Timesha Beauchamp after a 911 call in 2020. The 20-year-old, who had cerebral palsy, was eventually taken to a hospital and died two months later.
“We recognize that no solution 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. “This case involves extremely difficult circumstances that have arisen in a world complicated by a global pandemic.”
Beauchamp was struggling to breathe when her family called 911. Medical staff tried to revive her and consult a doctor, who pronounced her dead over the phone without going home.
Later that day, the funeral home opened the body bag and found Beauchamp gasping for air. She was rushed to hospital but never recovered.
“She was put in a position she should never have been in,” Stephen Herbes, an attorney for the Beauchamp family, said Tuesday.
He added that medical professionals said Beauchamp would have survived if she had been immediately taken to hospital from her home.
Southfield fought the lawsuit and convinced a judge to dismiss it on the grounds of governmental immunity. But the Michigan Court of Appeals It overturned this decision In 2024.
The Southfield fire chief said Beauchamp’s case may have been a case of “Lazarus syndrome,” a reference to people who return to life without assistance after resuscitation attempts fail.