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Mich. officials settle lawsuit for $3.25M after patient wrongly declared dead by EMS

The city of Southfield agreed to pay $3.25 million to settle a lawsuit tied to the 2020 Timesha Beauchamp case, in which she was pronounced dead by paramedics and later found alive at a funeral home

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. — The city of Southfield has agreed to pay $3.25 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the mother of Timesha Beauchamp, who was wrongly declared dead by paramedics in 2020.

The settlement comes more than five years after Beauchamp, who had cerebral palsy, was found alive at a funeral home hours after Southfield EMS pronounced her dead, Click On Detroit reported.

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The case was delayed multiple times before resolving. In October 2025, Lattimore and her attorneys accused the city of using procedural tactics to keep the case from going to trial.

Beauchamp died in October 2020, about two months after the incident.

In a statement, the city of Southfield said no settlement can undo what happened on Aug. 23, 2020, or ease the family’s pain, adding that the case unfolded under “extraordinarily difficult circumstances” during the global COVID-19 pandemic.

The city said it remains committed to high-quality EMS care and hopes the settlement allows all parties to move forward.

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Bill Carey is the associate editor for FireRescue1.com and EMS1.com. A former Maryland volunteer firefighter, sergeant, and lieutenant, Bill has written for several fire service publications and platforms. His work on firefighter behavioral health garnered a 2014 Neal Award nomination. His ongoing research and writings about line-of-duty death data is frequently cited in articles, presentations, and trainings. Have a news tip? He can be reached at news@lexipol.com.