The sister disconnected the brother from the life support system, and it turned out to be a stranger

For almost two weeks, Shirell Powell sat by the bed of her brother in a New York hospital in meditation, believing that doctors could do nothing more to save him.

Фото: Depositphotos

She was told that the man had a brain death as a result of a drug overdose, so at the end of July 2018, the grieving Powell gave permission to disconnect him from the life support system, and her brother was declared dead, writes CNN.

A couple of weeks later, Powell was notified that the man she was about to bury was a stranger with almost the same name as her brother - Freddie Clarence Williams. And her brother, 40-year-old Frederick Williams, was alive.

Powell sued St. Barnabas Hospital for negligence and demands monetary compensation. She said she "suffered serious emotional trauma" as a result of the hospital misidentifying a brain-dead man as her brother.

"Wrong" Williams

Powell’s lawsuit states that in the middle of July 2018, an unconscious man named Freddie Clarence Williams was hospitalized at St. Barnabas Hospital, his name was found on a social security card he had with him, but he wasn’t checked by her number.

Brother Powell, Frederick Williams, was previously a patient at this hospital, and Powell was among those listed in his patient profile as an emergency contact.

The woman said the hospital contacted her and the doctor told her “he didn’t think Frederick Williams would survive.”

A couple of weeks later, Powell decided to disconnect the brother from the life support system and began to prepare for his funeral. When the autopsy was performed, a staff member at the New York Medical Examinations Center told Powell that the person she mourned was not her brother, but a person who had a similar name and appearance.

Lawyer Powell, Alexander Dudelson, explained that the man whom his client considered to be a brother was swollen, a neck bandage was applied to him and a lot of tubes were connected, which changed his appearance. According to him, Powell and several other members of her family believed that this man was their relative.

“I saw photographs of a man lying on a cot. He was wearing a neck brace and tubes. When the hospital says that this is your brother and there is a resemblance, you are inclined to believe it,” the lawyer said.

Dudelson stressed that this similarity does not exempt the hospital from the fact that its employees neglected the parts check, which would prove that these two people were different people because their full names, dates of birth and social security numbers were different.

Who was the deceased

Brother Powell, Frederick Williams, is alive and is being held at the Rikers Correctional Facility for the offense committed (details of the case are not specified).

Powell had no connection with his brother for the entire time until confusion was discovered.

“I don't have any siblings, but sometimes I go a couple of weeks without talking to my best friend. A two-week gap doesn’t make much difference, especially when someone is incarcerated,” Dudelson said.

The man who died 29 July 2018, remains a mystery. None of his family members or close friends did not get in touch.

Dudelson said that before filing the lawsuit in Powell's case, he sent a letter to the hospital asking for an investigation. In response, he received a letter from the hospital's lawyers saying that because his client was not related to Freddie Clarence Williams, they could not "provide any information regarding this patient in the current circumstances."

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