Man left unconscious after choking on steak is wrongly taken off life support after unbelievable hospital mix-up
The family of a man whose life support was wrongly turned off in a bizarre case of mistaken identity is demanding answers from the Washington State Hospital where he died.
In what is a shocking story of misidentification and heartbreak, two families now struggle with unimaginable consequences.
The ordeal began on August 8, 2021, when David Wells, 69, choked on a piece of steak while eating and was rushed to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver, Washington.
Unconscious and unable to breathe, Wells was placed on a ventilator.
But a mix-up at the hospital prompted staff to contact the family of his hospital roommate, Michael Beehler, 60, instead of Wells’ own relatives.
“They said, ‘He’s basically brain dead,’” Debbie Danielson, Beehler’s sister, recalled KKG. “Do you want us to keep him on a ventilator or do you want to pull the plug?” the 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 let die wasn’t their brother at all. It was the life of David Wells, a man who shared 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 a ventilator, but another family decided to pull the plug
PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver, Washington is now being sued by both families involved in the mix-up
An obituary for Beehler even appeared in the local newspaper: “Michael A. Beehler, 60, Vancouver, died August 9, 2021.”
“That whole week was a bit of a blur. She was trying to arrange a funeral and let family members know he had passed away,” Danielson explained, 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 live anymore. You’re dead!'” Danielson recounted.
The error only came to light when Beehler became confused about why his cell phone service had been deactivated and called his family.
The realization that the wrong man had been taken off life support prompted Beehler and Danielson to notify police and demand answers.
“We’ve made life-ending decisions for someone we don’t even know,” Gary Danielson said. ‘We never received an explanation. We never had any regrets or anything.”
Emails from the Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office revealed the extent of the misidentification.
After Wells died on August 9, his body was mistakenly identified as Beehler’s and sent to a funeral home.
David Wells was confused with this man, Michael Beehler from Vancouver, who shared the same room. Beehler’s family was told he had died, even though he had not
While preparing for her brother Michael’s funeral, Debbie Danielson and husband Gary received a surprise call from him asking why his cell phone had been disconnected.
Beehler’s sister, Debbie Danielson, pictured, was told her brother was ‘brain dead’ and agreed to end life support
“We’ve made life-ending decisions for someone we don’t even know,” Gary Danielson said. ‘We never received an explanation. We never had any regrets or anything.”
The obituary for Beehler was published, further confirming the hospital’s tragic mistake
Beehler was still alive and days later called his sister Debbie to reveal the serious mistake
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 home, I thought, ‘Shouldn’t we identify him?’ “No, we’ll just take it from here,” they told him.
Meanwhile, Wells’ family remained in the dark, believing their loved one had died under more routine circumstances.
Shawn Wells, David Wells’ son, described the emotional toll he suffered when he learned two years later that strangers had decided his father’s fate – something he didn’t find out until 2023.
“I have no words for how poorly they handled this,” he said. ‘I will never be able to get that decision back. It’s something I will carry with me forever.’
To make matters worse, Shawn discovered that his father’s organs had been donated against his will. “It’s disturbing,” he said. “They dropped the ball so blatantly.
‘It would have been a very easily recognizable mark on his body. “Even if there was some confusion about his identity, I think it would be resolved quickly,” Shawn said.
The families of Wells and Beehler have now sued PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center, along with the ambulance service, the funeral home and the Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office, accusing them of negligence and serious 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 mistake resulted in David Wells’ organs being donated against his will, adding to the family’s pain
Shawn Wells, whose father was the deceased, described the incident as “disturbing” and “something he may never recover from.”
After Wells died on August 9, his body was mistakenly identified as Beehler’s and sent to a funeral home. No identification of the body was ever made, which only added to the confusion
The following week an obituary for David Wells was published in the newspaper
‘They checked my identity. That’s 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 researcher in the field of medical ethics, 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 apologise,” he said.
Despite calls for accountability, PeaceHealth has declined to provide specific details on how the mix-up occurred, citing patient privacy laws.
A hospital spokesperson said: “PeaceHealth has worked hard to strengthen our patient identification processes… Our unwavering commitment to caring for our community remains stronger than ever.”
In the aftermath of the incident, the Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office revised its protocols to require family members to identify deceased persons or use fingerprints when direct identification is not possible.
Unfortunately, the changes come too late for the Wells and Beehler families, who are left with questions that remain unanswered.
“It’s a pretty confusing situation,” Beehler said. “Someone messed up.”