SOUTHFIELD, Mich. – The family of a 20-year-old Southfield woman declared dead, then found alive, is asking for $50 million in a lawsuit against the city of Southfield.
Timesha Beauchamp’s mother called 9-1-1 on Aug. 23 when her daughter, who has cerebral palsy, had trouble breathing after several attempts to revive her. Southfield fire paramedics declared her dead -- but she was later found alive at a Detroit Funeral home.
The Law Office of Geoffrey Fieger filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Southfield on Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
“Three or four hours later (at the funeral home), when they unzipped the bag getting ready to embalm her, her eyes were open," Fieger said. “She was breathing and she was alive.”
Fieger said he has never seen a case like it.
“How these paramedics came up with the idea that Timesha had died, and left her in the state that she was in -- without oxygen -- is beyond me,” he said.
The attorney says that’s why his office filed the multi-million dollar lawsuit against the paramedics involved and the city of Southfield.
“It’s the paramedics and the agency, the city of Southfield, they work for. Under federal law, the agency is probably not going to be as responsible as the individual paramedics,” Fieger said.
Fieger says that Beauchamp is still in poor condition following the tragic incident.
“The doctors tells us she’s gravely, gravely ill. She sustained severe lack of oxygen -- brain damage as a result of being left without oxygen all those hours," he said. “Today, weeks later, it’s a touch and go situation in whether she will survive."