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Family of woman wrongly pronounced dead will receive $3.25 million settlement
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Timesha Beauchamp, who had cerebral palsy, died in October 2020, two months after she was mistakenly declared dead
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Family embroiled in years-long legal battle after 20-year-old woman’s death
The family of a woman who was wrongly declared dead has been awarded millions of dollars in compensation.
Timesha Beauchamp, who had cerebral palsy, was pronounced dead by emergency room doctors over the phone at her home in Southfield, Michigan, in August 2020. She was 20 years old.
When Beauchamp later arrived at a funeral home, a worker preparing to embalm the woman’s body discovered that she was still breathing with her eyes open.
Beauchamp was transferred to hospital but she died two months later in October, suffering “severe brain damage” from a prolonged lack of oxygen, her family’s lawyer, Geoffrey Fieger of Fieger Law Firm, said when she was wrongly pronounced dead.
Beauchamp’s family has now received a $3.25 million settlement, Fieger Law confirmed. “After years of hard-fought litigation, we achieved justice for Tessa 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 this family. They are able to close this chapter of their lives, but nothing will bring Tessa back,” Fiege Law continued.
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Officials in Southfield, Michigan, responded to the settlement in a statement obtained by PEOPLE.
“We recognize that no solution can undo the profound tragedy that occurred on August 23, 2020, or alleviate the pain experienced by Ms. Beauchamp’s family,” they said. “This case involves extremely difficult circumstances that have arisen in the complex world of a global pandemic.”
Officials continued, “The City respects the judicial process and believes that the complexity of these issues and the emotional impact they have on all parties require resolution through settlement at this time. The City remains committed to providing the highest quality emergency medical services to our community and hopes this settlement will allow all parties to move forward.”
Figg Law Tessa Beauchamp (left) and a family member (right).
Back in 2020, a spokesperson for the Oakland County Medical Examiner’s Office told PEOPLE that Beauchamp’s death declaration was based on real-time medical data, including heartbeat and breathing, provided by responding authorities and first responders.
In a previous 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 ultimately sued Southfield EMS paramedics for $50 million for declaring her dead while she was “still alive,” attorney Feige said in a previous statement.
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Last year, on the fifth anniversary of Beauchamp’s death, her mother, Erica Latimore, said she had no plans to stop seeking justice for her children.
“I’m not going to give up,” Lattimore said in an interview with WDIV-TV. “I’m going to go through a long process no matter how long it takes. She lived 20 years. If it takes another 20 years for this to come to court and God gives me a breather, I’ll be there.”
Read the original article on People