Patient Dies After Hospital Asks Wrong Family About Removing Life Support

Mar. 15, 2025

Stock image of Sick Patient Sleeps on the Hospital Bed. Heart Rate Monitor Equipment is on His Finger.Photo:Getty

Getty

Wells, who was 69, arrived at the Vancouver medical facility via ambulance on Aug. 8, 2021, after he choked on a piece of steak, became unconscious and stopped breathing. Wells was incorrectly identified as Beehler, and the hospital contacted Beehler’s sister, Debbie Danielson, to decide whether the “brain dead” patient would remain on life support, Danielson toldKGW.

After she made the difficult decision to end the life of the man she thought was her brother, she grieved him, wrote his obituary for the newspaper and arranged his funeral. Then, on Aug. 14, 2021, she learned Beehler was alive when he called her.

“I said, ‘You can’t be alive. You’re dead!' ” Danielson recalled for KGW.

PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center.google maps

google maps

The siblings reported the incident to authorities. Additionally, the Clark County Medical Examiner (CCME) retrieved Wells’ body and used fingerprints to confirm he was not Beehler. Soon, the CCME notified Wells’ son, Shawn Wells, per the court documents.

Shawn did not learn of the misidentification until the 2023KGWreport, according to court documents. “I’m at a loss for words how badly they handled this,” Shawn said, per KGW. “I’ll never be able to get that decision back.”

After the 2023 news report, theWashington Department of Health investigated the incidentand found multiple violations. The hospital failed to “develop a process to ensure staff were trained to verify patient identification,” “provide supervision of staff tasked with verifying patient identification” and “have a reliable method to identify each patient presenting for care.”

Neither violation garnered citations because the hospital enacted the necessary improvements, per the investigation.

Shawn, Beehler and Danielson are suing the hospital for negligence and causing severe emotional distress, according to theMiami Herald.They are also suing the CCME, American Medical Response Ambulance, and All County Cremation and Burial for negligence, tort of outrage and causing severe emotional distress in a separate suit.

The hospital issued a statement to PEOPLE: “The PeaceHealth Southwest Emergency Department is one of the busiest on the West Coast, treating 80,000 patients a year. Our highly skilled healthcare team is committed to providing quality care in a safe environment every day.”

“Given that PeaceHealth is involved in litigation, it is unfortunate we are unable to share more facts about this situation,” the statement continued. “Our unwavering commitment of caring for our community remains stronger than ever.”

Additionally, a company spokeswoman, Debra Carnes, told PEOPLE that the alleged incident happened during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. “We were all living in very different, very uncertain times and hospitals were at the center,” Carnes said.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Representatives for PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center, American Medical Response Ambulance Service, Inc., CMEE, All County Cremation and Burial and the plaintiffs’ attorneys did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on Tuesday.

source: people.com