Patient dies after being wrongly taken off life support ‘when he was mistaken for his hospital roommate in same ward’
THE FAMILY of a man whose life support was incorrectly switched off in a tragic case of mistaken identity are demanding answers from the hospital where he died.
David Wells, 69, was placed on life support in Washington State hospital after he choked on a piece of steak while eating dinner in Vancouver, Washington.
But a mix-up at the hospital led staff to contact the family of his ward roommate, Michael Beehler, 60, instead of Wells’ own relatives.
The hospital told Debbie Danielson, Michael’s sister: “He’s basically brain dead.
She was asked: “Do you want us to keep him on life support or do you want to pull the plug?”
Faced with an excruciating decision, Debbie and her husband, Gary, agreed to end life support.
But the man they had authorized to die was not their brother at all – it was David Wells, who was sharing the same hospital room.
Michael Beehler was in fact alive and well.
An incorrect death notice even appeared for Michael in the local newspaper reading: “Michael A. Beehler, 60, Vancouver, died August 9, 2021”.
Debbie said: “That whole week was kind of a blur.
“Trying to come up with funeral arrangements, letting family members know that he passed away.”
The following week, she received a phone call turned her world upside down.
It was Michael on the line, who she thought to be dead.
Debbie recalled saying: “You can’t be alive. You’re dead.”
The outrageous mix-up only came to light when Michael became confused that his mobile phone service had been deactivated, so he called his family to sort it out.
Realising the mistake, Debbie and Michael immediately contacted police.
Debbie’s husband Gary said: “We made life-ending decisions for a person we don’t even know.
“We never got an explanation. We never got a sorry or anything.”
The misidentification continued even after David’s death, when his body was incorrectly identified as Michael’s and sent to a funeral home.
Debbie visited the funeral home and asked if she needed to identify her brother, but was told that wasn’t necessary.
David’s was informed that he had died under more usual circumstances, and did not learn of the scandal until two years later.
Shawn Wells, David Wells’ son, described the emotional toll of learning that strangers had decided his father’s fate.
He said: “I’m at a loss for words how badly they handled this.
“I’ll never be able to get that decision back. It’s something I’ll carry with me forever.”
To make matters worse, Shawn discovered his father’s organs had been donated against his wishes.
He said: “It’s disturbing. They dropped the ball so egregiously.
“It would have been a very easily identifiable mark on his body. Even if there was any slight confusion about his identity, I think it would have been quickly resolved.”
The families of David and Michael are now suing PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center along with the ambulance service, funeral home, and Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office.
They accuse the services of negligence and severe emotional distress – alleging the error began with the 911 call and persisted at every stage to the funeral home.