YOU NEED TO KNOW
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The family of a woman who was wrongly pronounced dead is getting a $3.25 million settlement
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Timesha Beauchamp, who had cerebral palsy, died in October 2020, two months after she was inaccurately pronounced dead.
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The family of the 20-year-old woman was engaged in a long legal battle years after her death
The family of a woman who was wrongly pronounced dead is receiving a multi-million dollar settlement.
Timesha Beauchamp, who had cerebral palsy, was pronounced dead over the phone by an emergency room doctor at her home in Southfield, Mich., in August 2020. She was 20 years old.
When Beauchamp later arrived at a funeral home, a worker, who was preparing to embalm the woman’s body, found her still breathing with her eyes open.
Beauchamp was transferred to a hospital, but died two months later in October from what her family’s lawyer, Geoffrey Fieger of Fieger Law, said was “massive brain damage” she suffered from being denied oxygen for too long when she was wrongly pronounced dead.
Now, Beauchamp’s family is receiving a $3.25 million settlement, Fieger Law confirmed. “After years of hard-fought litigation, we were able to obtain justice for Timesha and her family,” the law firm said in a statement to PEOPLE.
“Like many of the families and people we represent, this is a bittersweet moment for the family. They are able to close this chapter in their lives, but nothing will ever bring Timesha back,” continued Fieger Law.
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Officials in Southfield, Mich., reacted to the settlement in a statement obtained by PEOPLE.
“We recognize that no resolution can remove the profound tragedy that occurred on August 23, 2020, or ease the pain experienced by Mrs. Beauchamp’s family,” they said. “This case involved extraordinarily difficult circumstances that arose in the complex world of a global pandemic.”
“The City respects the judicial process and believes that the complexity of these issues and the emotional impact on all parties made a resolution through an appropriate solution at this time. The City remains committed to providing the highest quality of emergency medical services to our community and hopes that this solution will allow all parties to move forward,” continued the officials.
Fieger Law Timesha Beauchamp (left) and a family member (right).
Back in 2020, a spokesperson for the Oakland County Medical Examiner’s Office told PEOPLE that the declaration of Beauchamp’s death was based on real-time medical data, including heartbeat and breathing, that was provided by responding authorities and EMS personnel.
In an earlier statement to PEOPLE, a spokesman for the Southfield Fire Department said responding authorities “followed all appropriate city, county and state protocols and procedures in this case.”
Beauchamp’s family eventually sued Southfield EMS Paramedics for $50 million for pronouncing her dead when she was “very much alive,” attorney Fieger said in an earlier statement.
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Last year, on the fifth anniversary of Beauchamp’s death, her mother, Erica Lattimore, said she had no plans to stop pursuing justice for her son.
“I’m not quitting,” Lattimore said, according to WDIV-TV. “I will go through the length, however long it takes. She lived 20 years. If you want another 20 years for this to be heard in court and God gives me breath, I am there.”
Read the original article on People