A grandmother believed to be dead was mistakenly placed in a sealed body bag and stored in a freezer, only to be found alive later. Maria de Jesus Arroyo suffered a cardiac arrest at her residence in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, California, on July 26, 2010, leading to her being taken to White Memorial Medical Center. Doctors initially declared her dead, and her body was placed in a refrigerated morgue. However, when mortuary staff retrieved her several days later, they discovered her alive, lying face-down in a partially unzipped body bag with injuries to her face.
The family filed a lawsuit against the hospital, alleging that the 80-year-old woman was mistakenly stored in a morgue freezer while still alive, resulting in her death from the extreme cold. A pathologist hired by the family, Dr. William Manion, determined that Maria had been alive when placed in the freezer and had sustained injuries while attempting to escape the body bag after waking up in the cold environment.
The family initially filed a negligence claim in January 2011, followed by a wrongful death and medical malpractice lawsuit after receiving Dr. Manion’s report in 2012. Although a lower court dismissed the case citing statute-of-limitations grounds, California’s Second District Court of Appeal reinstated the lawsuit, stating the family had no reason to suspect Maria was alive when placed in the morgue.
While the hospital denied any wrongdoing, asserting that they followed proper protocols, the Arroyo family’s attorney, Scott Schutzman, described the incident as a nightmare scenario. White Memorial Medical Center has been approached for comment on the matter.