Document: MI Paramedic Misled Doctor in Declaring Alive Woman Dead

SOUTHFIELD, MI - A suburban Detroit paramedic repeatedly failed to recognize that a woman was alive and misled a doctor by phone in declaring her dead, according to state documents.

20-year-old Timesha Beauchamp, who has cerebral palsy, had been in a body bag for two hours and was about to be embalmed when she gasped on Aug. 23, Ed White reports for The Associated Press.

A state license suspension filed last week provides details of the bizarre case. The suspension was filed against Michael Storms, a Southfield firefighter and paramedic, who responded with three others when Beauchamp’s family called 911 due to breathing problems, the report said.

Southfield Fire Chief Johnny Menifee previously said he shares the family’s “anguish,” while insisting the paramedics acted appropriately. Last week, he pointed to “Lazarus syndrome” - the name for when people come back to life without assistance after attempts to resuscitate have failed - as a possible explanation for the strange events.

According to state license suspension documents from the health department, Storms stopped resuscitation efforts six minutes before getting permission from a doctor who was contacted by phone. He also misled the doctor by giving a false description of vital signs, The AP reports.

After Beauchamp was declared dead, Storms was called back into the home twice because family members saw her breathing, felt or a pulse or noticed other signs of life. The first time, Storms placed her on a monitor that “clearly showed” she was alive, but no action was taken, the report said. The second time, he indicated that Beauchamp’s visible chest movement was normal due to her medication. In both instances, Storms “failed to recognize the patient was still alive,” the report said.

Beauchamp was taken to a hospital when the funeral home called 911 hours later. Funeral home staff saw her chest moving when they picked up the body, the state said, but the family told them the medical crew had assured them she was dead, The AP reports. Beauchamp remains in critical condition at a hospital.

The state also has suspended the license of firefighter/paramedic Scott Rickard, The AP reports. A lawyer for the Storms and Rickard, T. Joseph Seward, said they will contest the state’s conclusions.

Menifee told the AP Wednesday that the state’s report is “very alarming and very concerning.” But it’s “not how we understand what happened,” he added.

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