The family of a man whose life support was wrongly switched off in a bizarre case of mistaken identity are demanding answers from the Washington State hospital where he died.
In what is a shocking tale of misidentification and heartbreak, two families have now been left grappling with unimaginable consequences.
The ordeal began on August 8, 2021, when David Wells, 69, choked on a piece of steak while eating dinner and was rushed to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver, Washington.
Unconscious and unable to breathe, Wells was placed on life support.
But a mix-up at the hospital led staff to contact the family of his hospital roommate, Michael Beehler, 60, instead of Wells’ own relatives.
‘They said, “He’s basically brain dead,” recalled Debbie Danielson, Beehler’s sister to KGW. ‘Do you want us to keep him on life support or do you want to pull the plug?’ hospital staff asked.
Faced with an excruciating decision, Danielson and her husband, Gary, agreed to end life support.
But unbeknownst to them, the man they had authorized to die was not their brother at all. It was the life of David Wells – a man sharing the same hospital room. And in a tragic twist, Michael Beehler was alive and well.
David Wells choked on a piece of steak and was rushed to hospital. Unconscious and unable to breathe, Wells was placed on life support but another family made the decision to pull the plug
PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver, Washington is now being sued by both families involved in the mix-up
A death notice even appeared for Beehler in the local newspaper: ‘Michael A. Beehler, 60, Vancouver, died August 9, 2021’.
‘That whole week was kind of a blur. Trying to come up with funeral arrangements, letting family members know that he passed away,’ explained Danielson – but the following week, she received a phone call that turned her world upside down.
It was her brother, Mike, on the other end of the line. ‘I said, “You can’t be alive. You’re dead!”‘ Danielson recounted.
The mistake was only brought to light when Beehler became confused as to why his cellphone service had been deactivated and called his family.
The realization that the wrong man had been taken off life support led Beehler and Danielson to notify the police and demand answers.
‘We made life-ending decisions for a person we don’t even know,’ Gary Danielson said. ‘We never got an explanation. We never got a sorry or anything.’
Emails from the Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office revealed the extent of the misidentification.
After Wells passed away on August 9, his body was incorrectly identified as Beehler’s and sent to a funeral home.
David Wells had been confused for this man, Michael Beehler of Vancouver, who had been sharing the same room. Beehler’s family were told that he had died – even though he hadn’t
While preparing for her brother Michael’s funeral, Debbie Danielson and husband Gary received a surprise phone call from him asking why his cellphone had been cut off
Beehler’s sister, Debbie Danielson, pictured, was told her brother was “brain dead” and agreed to end life support
‘We made life-ending decisions for a person we don’t even know,’ Gary Danielson said. ‘We never got an explanation. We never got a sorry or anything.’
The death notice for Beehler was published, further cementing the hospital’s tragic mistake
Beehler, right, was alive and called his sister, Debbie, days later, revealing the grave error
Both families, including that of Michael Beehler, pictured, are suing the hospital, ambulance service, and medical examiner for negligence and distress
‘When we went to the funeral director, I was like, “Don’t we need to identify him?” ‘No, we’ll just take it from here,”‘ they told him.
Meanwhile, Wells’ family was left in the dark, believing their loved one had died under more routine circumstances.
Shawn Wells, David Wells’ son, described the emotional toll of learning that strangers had decided his father’s fate – something he didn’t find out about until 2023 – two years later.
‘I’m at a loss for words how badly they handled this,’ he said. ‘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 that his father’s organs were donated against his wishes. ‘It’s disturbing,’ he said. ‘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,’ Shawn said.
The families of Wells and Beehler are now suing PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center, along with the ambulance service, funeral home, and Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office, accusing them of negligence and severe emotional distress.
The lawsuit alleges that misidentification errors began with the initial 911 call and continued throughout the process, at every stage from the hospital to the funeral home.
The error caused David Wells’ organs to be donated against his wishes, adding to the family’s pain
Shawn Wells whose father was the one to die described the incident as ‘disturbing’ and ‘something he may never recover from’
After Wells passed away on August 9, his body was incorrectly identified as Beehler’s and sent to a funeral home. No identification of the body was ever made only adding to the mix-up
A death notice was published in the newspaper for David Wells the following week
‘They checked my ID. That was about it,’ Beehler recalled, describing the chaotic scene when medics arrived at his apartment.
Health experts have pointed out that patient misidentification, while rare, can have devastating consequences.
Dr. Thomas Gallagher, a medical ethics researcher, emphasized the importance of transparency and accountability in such cases.
‘When something goes wrong in healthcare, it is critical that practitioners and organizations proactively reach out to explain what happened and apologize,’ he said.
Despite calls for accountability, PeaceHealth has declined to provide specific details, as to how the mix-up was able to occur citing patient privacy laws.
A spokesperson for the hospital stated: ‘PeaceHealth has worked diligently to strengthen our patient identification processes… Our unwavering commitment of caring for our community remains stronger than ever.’
In the wake of the incident, the Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office has revised its protocols to require family members to identify deceased individuals or to use fingerprinting when direct identification is not possible.
Sadly, the changes come too late for the Wells and Beehler families, who are left with questions that still remain unanswered.
‘It’s a pretty messed up situation,’ Beehler said. ‘Somebody messed up.’