A Michigan appeals court revived a lawsuit against Detroit-area paramedics after a woman who had been declared dead gasped for air with her eyes open when a body bag was unzipped at a funeral home.
A judge was wrong to dismiss the lawsuit in favour of Southfield paramedics before the parties could conduct interviews and gather other evidence, a process known as discovery, the court said in a 3-0 opinion Thursday.
Timesha Beauchamp, who had cerebral palsy, was struggling to breathe when her family called 911 in August 2020.
The medical crew tried to resuscitate her but ultimately called a doctor, who declared the 20-year-old dead without going to the home. Beauchamp was never taken to a hospital.
Later that day, a funeral home unzipped the body bag and found Beauchamp had her eyes open. She was rushed to a hospital but died two months later.
Beauchamp's family accused the medical crew of gross negligence. Oakland County Judge Nanci Grant dismissed the lawsuit, saying the Southfield employees had governmental immunity.
An attorney for the medical crew, Kali Henderson, acknowledged that it "sounds really bad" to say there's no liability for the paramedics and emergency medical technicians.
"Where do we have the facts that anything they could have done would have changed her condition?" Henderson told the appeals court on June 12.
But Judge Brock Swartzle said lawyers for Beauchamp's estate haven't yet taken depositions and gathered more information.
"Discovery might show that they are not responsible for her passing two months later," he said of Beauchamp's death. "Just focusing on her being in a body bag for a certain amount of time — that would frighten, shock, humiliate anyone, wouldn't it?"
"Certainly, your honour," Henderson replied, "and I don't disagree with that."
The lawsuit now will return to Oakland County court.
Immediately after Beauchamp was found alive, the Southfield fire chief said it might be a case of "Lazarus syndrome," a reference to people who come back to life without assistance after attempts to resuscitate have failed.
Health Canada is recalling a variety thousands of popular heat pumps across the country due to a potential risk of 'excessive heat exposure.'
Police in Cornwall, Ont. have seized approximately $1.3 million worth of cocaine and $300,000 in cash as part of a major drugs investigation.
Arbitration doesn't typically spur a strike. If anything, the reverse occurs. But on Thursday, a directive for binding arbitration from Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan was met with job action by WestJet plane mechanics just one day after it was issued, catching the airline and the government off guard and marking a turbulent start to one of the busiest travel weekends of the summer.
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A Sturgeon County man has been charged after he allegedly shot a teen over the weekend.
Authorities broke up an altercation involving "numerous" golfers at a course in B.C.'s Lower Mainland over the weekend – an incident that was apparently prompted by serious breaches in etiquette.
Former Breakfast Television co-host and radio broadcaster Scott Boyd has died at the age of 68.
An Ontario judge has granted the University of Toronto an injunction allowing it to clear out a pro-Palestinian encampment from its downtown Toronto campus
A Montreal-area man has died after spending nine days in hospital following a serious assault in Dublin, Ireland.
Former Breakfast Television co-host and radio broadcaster Scott Boyd has died at the age of 68.
A helicopter pilot has died while fighting a wildfire in the Northwest Territories.
The man who was fatally shot along a Flamborough, Ont. highway this weekend has now been identified as Tobenna Obiaga, a 45-year-old man from Halton Region.
Calgary's mayor has given citizens the go-ahead to begin using water inside their homes as they normally would.
U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday acknowledged his performance during last Thursday's presidential debate wasn't his best, but blamed it on jet lag after two overseas trips earlier in June.
Vandals have beheaded a sculpture featuring the Virgin Mary giving birth to Jesus that had been exhibited in the cathedral in the Austrian city of Linz and drawn criticism from some Catholics who said it was blasphemous.
A Seattle-area plastic surgery provider accused of threatening patients over negative reviews and posting fake positive ones must pay US$5 million to the state attorney general's office and thousands of Washington patients, according to a federal consent decree.
Italian police arrested a farm owner on Tuesday on suspicion of homicide after one of his workers, an undocumented labourer from India, bled to death when his arm was cut off by a piece of farm equipment. The landowner abandoned the bleeding worker and failed to call an ambulance, prosecutors said.
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said on Tuesday he has 'so many skeletons in my closet,' when asked about an allegation in a Vanity Fair article that he sexually assaulted a former family babysitter.
Iranian presidential candidates on Tuesday discussed the impact of economic sanctions imposed on their country by the United States and other Western nations and presented their proposals for reviving a nuclear deal with world powers.
The co-chair of the Liberals' Ontario campaign is suggesting the party's candidate in the Toronto—St. Paul's byelection needed more time to campaign before the vote.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is heading to Washington, D.C., next week to take part in the NATO leaders' summit.
The Office of the United States Trade Representative says it will do what’s necessary to halt Canada's tax on large foreign digital services companies.
U.S. officials have approved another Alzheimer’s drug that can modestly slow the disease, providing a new option for patients in the early stages of the incurable, memory-destroying ailment.
When Hannah was seven years old, she told her parents she didn’t want to be afraid of food anymore.
Scientists tracking the spread of bird flu are increasingly concerned that gaps in surveillance may keep them several steps behind a new pandemic, according to Reuters interviews with more than a dozen leading disease experts.
Grapes have been intertwined with the story of humanity for millennia, providing the basis for wines produced by our ancestors thousands of years ago — but that may not have been the case if dinosaurs hadn’t disappeared from the planet, according to new research.
Marine mammal rescuers in British Columbia are searching for an entangled humpback whale in the waters off northern Vancouver Island.
The former Apollo 8 astronaut best known for taking the iconic 'Earthrise' photo, who died last month while piloting a plane over the waters off Washington state, was doing a flyby near a friend's house when the fatal accident occurred, federal authorities said Tuesday.
Robert Towne, the Oscar-winning screenplay writer of 'Shampoo,' 'The Last Detail' and other acclaimed films whose work on 'Chinatown' became a model of the art form and helped define the jaded allure of his native Los Angeles, has died. He was 89.
Jin, the oldest member of K-pop supergroup BTS, will be an Olympic torchbearer at the Paris games after recently completing his mandatory military service.
Irish singer Niall Horan had to ditch his car and walk to Scotiabank Arena where his concert was being held last weekend because the traffic was 'too bad' downtown.
Health Canada is recalling a variety thousands of popular heat pumps across the country due to a potential risk of 'excessive heat exposure.'
WestJet passengers faced more flight disruptions Tuesday despite a deal reached over the weekend to end a strike by its mechanics, as the airline says full resumption of operations "will take time."
The union representing inshore fish harvesters in Newfoundland and Labrador is calling on the federal government to reverse its recent decision to reopen the commercial Northern cod fishery.
Barry Nussbaum, a Toronto-based family lawyer who has counselled countless couples, offers advice about the details you don't want to overlook before getting married.
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It was a history-making day for Sudbury’s Syla Swords, who was named to Canada’s Olympic basketball team on Tuesday.
It's become difficult to deny the impact of favourable tax situations for teams around the NHL.
CDK Global said 'substantially all' of the nearly 15,000 car dealerships that use its software across North America are back online to its core management system, almost two weeks since a cyber incident caused a software blackout.
Transport Canada recalled various vehicles over the last week, including Kia, Toyota, Volkswagen and Porsche cars.
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When Zhya Aramiy was living in Turkey and Iraq, he had to keep his Pride flags hidden away.
A rave at the Ontario Science Centre was the place where Greg LeBlanc says his relationship first began with his husband Mark in 1997.
Travellers flying with WestJet continue to watch as the airline cancels more flights due to a sudden strike by its mechanics union.
The remains of a soldier from Newfoundland killed in the battlefields of France during the First World War will be laid to rest in St. John's Monday, bringing an emotional end to a years-long effort in a place still shaken and forever changed by the bloodshed.
The city is entering the final stages of resuming water service through its repaired feeder main, as water consumption continues to fall below the city’s threshold level.
A grandfather and grandson duo proudly graduated alongside each other at the same northern Manitoba school.
A large basking shark was captured close to the shoreline on Nova Scotia's Eastern Shore.
The world's largest hockey stick could soon become the world's most in-pieces hockey stick as a Vancouver Island community prepares to tear down and carve up the Canadian landmark.
For half a decade, a Saskatoon family has been trying to bring their orphaned niece to Canada, they say now it’s a matter of life or death.
One B.C. family is desperate to get their daughter home after their WestJet flight from Mexico was cancelled.
The murder of 30-year-old Tori Dunn has not only shattered her family and shaken her Surrey community—it’s also reignited a heated political debate about bail reform.
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An Ontario man who wanted to spend time with his family in Florida was hospitalized after suffering a cardiac arrest at the airport as he was about to fly back to Canada.
The Toronto Police Service says it will enforce a court order granted yesterday that says demonstrators at a pro-Palestinian protest encampment at the University of Toronto must dismantle the site by 6 p.m. today.
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Calgary's mayor has given citizens the go-ahead to begin using water inside their homes as they normally would.
The driver of a vehicle in a crash that killed her younger sister and friend in 2021 was given two years' probation and five-year driving prohibition on Tuesday.
A Sturgeon County man has been charged after he allegedly shot a teen over the weekend.
A member of the Canadian Armed Forces Parachute Team, known as the SkyHawks, was seriously injured during a Canada Day performance on Parliament Hill on Monday.
The rock band Heart has postponed their Ottawa show and all remaining shows on their tour as lead singer Ann Wilson undergoes treatment for cancer.
An eastern Ontario doctor facing four charges of first-degree murder and negligence causing death in connection with the deaths of four seniors at a Hawkesbury hospital was acquitted on all charges at the Ottawa courthouse on Tuesday.
A letter carrier with Canada Post says he's been harassed repeatedly at work because he is gay and has filed official complaints but nothing has been done.
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A Winnipeg business owner is speaking out after criminals hit her establishment three times in just over a month, including a bizarre trailer fire.
The City of Winkler is asking residents to conserve water Tuesday after heavy rain hammered the southern Manitoba community on Canada Day.
The Regina Police Service (RPS) has revealed that an investigation into a death over the weekend is now being considered a homicide.
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The Outlook RCMP detachment is seeking the public's assistance in locating 58-year-old Michael Edstrom of Dinsmore, Saskatchewan.
Highway 69 reopened early Tuesday evening after being closed for several hours following a collision.
A group of Elliot Lake seniors and homeowners who have been fighting the Canadian government and by extension the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission for the last three years over the radioactive backfill used under their homes will be getting their day in court on Wednesday.
Authorities broke up an altercation involving "numerous" golfers at a course in B.C.'s Lower Mainland over the weekend – an incident that was apparently prompted by serious breaches in etiquette.
Newlyweds from London, Ont. are trapped in Jamaica, as Category 5 hurricane Beryl approaches.
Beginning today, the City of London has put lane restrictions in place along Wellington Street between Horton Street East and South Street to complete surface paving, line painting and other finishing work.
On Monday evening, a man on a small black motorcycle was reported to London police after he threatened two people with an alleged firearm. The incident took place in southwest London at around 7:30 p.m. in the area of Campbell Street North and James Street.
Tuesday's board meeting has determined the next steps of the proposed South Muskoka hospital.
It's been nearly two years since six young people died in a crash at a construction site along McKay Road. Now one of the victim's family is demanding action in a new lawsuit against many entities including the City.
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Arson is being listed as the cause of a fire at an apartment on Ouellette Avenue. Crews were called to the 900 block of Ouellette around 12:50 p.m. Tuesday.
Dozens of community members gathered in Windsor on Tuesday morning for the funeral of Carly Walsh and her two children, Madison and Hunter, who were found dead inside their Harrow home on June 20.
Andrea Khanjin said a controversial landfill project will be put through a rigorous approval process.
Marine mammal rescuers in British Columbia are searching for an entangled humpback whale in the waters off northern Vancouver Island.
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A swath of B.C.’s southern Interior is being told to brace for potential severe thunderstorms Tuesday.
A severe thunderstorm watch is in effect Sunday for a swath of the B.C. Interior, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada.
Mounties in Kelowna say a suspect is at large after a man was stabbed in the city Sunday afternoon.
With the recent moisture and cooler temperatures, fire bans and restrictions in the Lethbridge area are no longer in effect.
Plenty of tourists will descend on Lethbridge to see what the city offers. Locals, too, will have no shortage of activities this weekend.
The 122-year-old Raymond Stampede is set to get underway this weekend, but this year’s event will occur at a new location.
A 37-year-old has been charged after a security guard in Sault Ste. Marie was attacked by a shoplifting suspect June 30.
A group of Elliot Lake seniors and homeowners who have been fighting the Canadian government and by extension the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission for the last three years over the radioactive backfill used under their homes will be getting their day in court on Wednesday.
A researcher from the Netherlands is looking to identify the families of a couple of dozen Indigenous heroes who gave their lives while fighting for freedom in World War II. It’s all part of a larger remembrance project she’s working on.
The union representing inshore fish harvesters in Newfoundland and Labrador is calling on the federal government to reverse its recent decision to reopen the commercial Northern cod fishery.
As part of the emotional ceremony honouring Newfoundland and Labrador's Unknown Soldier, the province's national anthem, The Ode to Newfoundland, was sung. Military members received special permission from defence officials to salute the Ode.
The remains of a soldier from Newfoundland killed in the battlefields of France during the First World War will be laid to rest in St. John's Monday, bringing an emotional end to a years-long effort in a place still shaken and forever changed by the bloodshed.
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