The confusion started in 2021 when PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center staff wanted to understand whether the family of patient David Wells wanted to keep him on life support — but they called the family of the man sharing his hospital room instead, a December complaint filed in Clark County, Washington, alleged.
Patient taken off life support after he was mistaken for his hospital roommate, lawsuit claims “Do you want us to keep him on life support or do you want to pull the plug?” hospital staff asked the wrong family.
Days later, the Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the body in the funeral home as belonging to Wells, not Beehler, the complaint says.The medical examiner’s office then notified Wells’ son, Shawn Wells.
Debbie Danielson, the sister of Wells’ hospital roommate, Michael Beehler, received a call from the Vancouver, Washington hospital asking her to make a “life-or-death” decision, the complaint says.
Family members are outraged after learning that their loved one was removed from life support at a Washington hospital - two years after he was killed in a medical mix-up.
