In a shocking incident, a grandmother was mistakenly presumed dead, placed in a body bag, and stored in a freezer, only to later be found alive.
Maria de Jesus Arroyo suffered a cardiac arrest at her residence in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, on July 26, 2010. She was taken to the White Memorial Medical Center, where medical professionals declared her deceased. However, subsequent investigations revealed that Maria was wrongly placed in a refrigerated morgue. When mortuary staff retrieved her days later, they uncovered her in a distressing state – face-down in a partially unzipped body bag with facial injuries.
The family of the 80-year-old woman has filed a lawsuit against the hospital, alleging that she was placed in a morgue freezer while still alive, ultimately succumbing to the extreme cold conditions.
The grave mistake came to light when morticians, preparing Maria’s body for the funeral, discovered her positioned face down in the partially unzipped body bag.
Dr. William Manion, a pathologist hired by the family, concluded that Maria had been alive when placed in the freezer. He pointed out that her injuries indicated she had attempted to free herself after regaining consciousness in the cold environment.
According to court documents, the pathologist stated that Maria had been “frozen alive,” regained consciousness, and in a futile attempt to escape, sustained injuries that led to her demise.
The family initially filed a negligence claim in January 2011. Subsequently, with the support of Dr. Manion’s findings in 2012, they pursued additional legal action for wrongful death and medical malpractice. Although a lower court dismissed the lawsuit based on statute-of-limitations constraints, the California Second District Court of Appeal revived the case in a significant ruling.
The court emphasized that the family had no reason to doubt Maria’s death when she was placed in the hospital morgue, justifying the timing of their wrongful-death claim.
The hospital has consistently refuted any wrongdoing, asserting that all protocols were followed correctly. In a statement, White Memorial Medical Center expressed confidence that the facts, once reviewed, would vindicate their actions.
Attorney Scott Schutzman, representing the Arroyo family, characterized the incident as a “nightmare,” highlighting the unimaginable ordeal of trying to escape from a zipped body bag.
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