MI Medics who Wrongly Ruled Girl Dead File Lawsuit

SOUTHFIELD, MI – Four firefighters involved in an erroneous declaration of death have filed a lawsuit to fight state sanctions against them, claiming protocols weren’t followed and their constitutional rights were violated.

Firefighter-paramedics Michael Storms and Scott Rickard and firefighter-EMTs Phillip Mulligan and Jake Kroll are plaintiffs in the civil lawsuit filed in federal court on Sept. 8 against Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Oakland County Medical Control Authority and several individuals.

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On Aug. 23, Storms, Rickard, Mulligan and Kroll responded to a Southfield residence when Timesha Beauchamp’s family called 9-1-1 because she was having breathing problems on Aug. 23. She was declared dead by a doctor contacted via phone. Hours later, she was found to be alive at a funeral home. The paramedic’s licenses were suspended three days later while the EMTs were notified their licenses would be suspended.

The firefighters are asking the court to reinstate their licenses, prohibit the defendants from taking further action against them, declare that their rights were violated and order the defendants to pay their court and attorney fees, the lawsuit states.

Storms' and Rickard’s paramedic licenses were suspended on Aug. 26, according to the lawsuit. Mulligan’s and Kroll’s EMT licenses were not suspended at that time, but they were notified that they would be.

The quick action to revoke Storms' and Rickard’s licenses was the result of health department employees “exerting pressure” on county medical control to “act swiftly” because the state agency “had already decided that it was going to take action against the plaintiffs,” the lawsuit claims.

On Aug. 23, the plaintiffs responded to Beauchamp’s residence after her family called 911 because she was having breathing problems.

The 20-year-old, who has cerebral palsy, was declared dead by a doctor who the crew contacted by phone. Beauchamp was in a body bag for two hours before a funeral home worker who was preparing to embalm her realized she was alive. She was rushed to a hospital where she remains in critical condition.

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

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 documents state. 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.”

According to the documents, 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 firefighters' complaint contests those findings and claims that the agencies “irreparably” violated the plaintiffs' “constitutional rights to due process” in depriving them of their professional licenses, employment and careers.

The city of Southfield, with the help of outside legal counsel, is conducting its own investigation into the events that led to Beauchamp being declared dead, Michael Manion, city community relations director, said in a statement obtained by WXYZ Detroit. The health department’s investigation is also ongoing, he said, but the agency hasn’t provided the city with requested information.

The lawsuit is meant to “compel” the defendants to “provide their findings and other information previously requested,” Manion said. It also seeks to order the defendants “to comply with their own protocols, which have not been followed in this case.”

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