Paramedics in Southfield, Michigan, wrongly declared Timesha Beauchamp dead on Aug. 23, 2020. Hours later, Beauchamp was found alive at a funeral home. Beauchamp, who had cerebral palsy, died two months later.
It was recently reported that the city of Southfield paid $3.25 million to settle the $50 million lawsuit filed by Beauchamp’s mother.
Assess, treat, reassess
Paramedics responded to an unresponsive woman and provided resuscitation care for 30 minutes before pronouncing Beauchamp dead. Family members protested that Beauchamp appeared to be breathing and had a pulse, but were told that was a result of medication given during resuscitation. Because of the family’s concerns, paramedics performed cardiac monitoring 13 minutes after CPR was stopped and that monitoring showed Beauchamp was not deceased, but that wasn’t recognized by the paramedics.
This tragic incident is a reminder of the importance of assessment and reassessment during every patient contact. Remember as you follow the basic life support or advanced life support algorithms to:
- Thoroughly look for signs of life like movement, breathing, gasping or coughing.
- Thoroughly collect a patient’s history, especially if the patient has underlying chronic disease or disability.
- Thoroughly check vital signs and don’t rely solely on the cardiac monitor. Observe, auscultate and palpate with your eyes, ears and hands.
- Thoroughly assess cardiac activity with the cardiac monitor and ultrasound, if available to you. If there is doubt about the findings, continue treatment and contact medical control.
- Thoughtfully consider the causes of unresponsiveness and provide appropriate treatments.
- Thoughtfully explain resuscitation care to the patient’s family. Allow them to watch, ask questions and share their concerns about the patient.
- Compassionately care for the patient.
- Compassionately show you care for the patient.
- Compassionately understand the family’s grief and fear.
Document
There is no doubt that the patient care report scrutinization began moments after the funeral home embalmer unzipped the body bag and discovered Beauchamp “with her eyes open, her chest moving up and down, and gasping for air,” and continued for the five years it took to settle the family’s lawsuit.
Your best defense against accusations of gross negligence is:
- Outstanding documentation in the patient care report
- Ensuring the family perceives that you did the best you could and took their concerns seriously
- Erring on the side of continuing care when doubt exists about the patient’s condition
