A tragic case of hospital misidentification has resulted in the death of a patient who was mistakenly taken off life support in a Vancouver, Washington, hospital.
David Wells, 69, was declared dead after being misidentified as his hospital roommate, Michael Beehler, and his family was asked to decide whether to remove him from life support.
The incident occurred at PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center on August 8, 2021. Wells had been rushed to the hospital after choking on a piece of steak and losing consciousness.
The following day, he was mistakenly identified as Beehler, and the hospital contacted Beehler’s sister, Debbie Danielson, to make the heart-wrenching decision of whether to end life support.
Under the assumption that her brother was brain dead, Danielson consented to the removal of life support, leading to Wells’ death. She grieved and even wrote her brother’s obituary before receiving an unimaginable phone call from Beehler, who was alive and well.
“I said, ‘You can’t be alive. You’re dead!’” Danielson recalled in an emotional interview.
Authorities were alerted, and the Clark County Medical Examiner confirmed Wells’ identity using fingerprint verification, uncovering the grave mistake. Wells’ son, Shawn, was not informed of the misidentification until a 2023 news report revealed the details.

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He expressed his heartbreak and anger over the way the situation was handled, noting that he would never be able to undo the decision to remove life support.
The Washington Department of Health launched an investigation, finding multiple violations at the hospital related to patient identification processes.
While no citations were issued, the hospital made improvements in response to the findings. The families of Wells, Beehler, and Danielson are suing the hospital and other parties involved for negligence and emotional distress.
PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center issued a statement expressing its commitment to strengthening patient identification processes while working with the community to improve safety.