Six days after a family was told that their daughter had died in a car crash, while planning her funeral, were told that she had survived and was suffering with debilitating injuries in a hospital instead, as reported by The Arizona Republic and USA Today.
The family has filed a lawsuit against the state's Department of Public Safety for failing to follow protocol. Named in the suit are: DPS Director R.H. and a chaplain employed by the DPS.
Four officers were also named for their failure in following department policies.
Officers told A.G.'s parents that she had died in a car crash following a trip to Disneyland last July. Six days later, officers came back and told A.G.'s parents that there was a mix-up in the identification process and that their daughter had survived.
A.G.'s friend, M.C. was the one that had perished in the accident while A.G. was at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in critical condition.
DPS policies state that officers must make a positive identification of a deceased person before informing their family members. The policy reads: "If positive identification cannot be accomplished for any of several reasons, dental records, fingerprints, DNA samples or birth certificates may be of value. Alternatively, if positive identification is provided by a third party, all circumstances surrounding the identification should be documented."
Reports from the incident stated that when officials couldn't accurately identify the woman dead at the scene, they instead relied on a nurse - who allegedly made the mistake and mixed up the two women.
At the hospital "Nurse Maria", as she has been named in reports, spoke to both sets of parents to query them about identifying marks on their daughters. A.G.'s mother told "Nurse Maria" that her daughter had a birth mark on her chest.
The nurse did not have the mother look at the young woman in the hospital, but instead, not locating the birthmark herself, incorrectly told officers that it was A.G. that had died.
Officers then informed A.G.'s parents that their daughter had died.
A Maricopa Medical Examiner found wisdom teeth on the woman examined - but A.G.'s had been removed two months before. Coupled with that, was that there was no birthmark found on the deceased woman's chest.
The investigation in the medical examiner's office occurred days after the incorrect woman had been identified in the hospital.
After confirming that the two women had been mixed up, officials then returned to A.G.'s parents to tell them the news: Their daughter was in the hospital, paralyzed, but alive.
DPS spokesman, Captain S.H., couldn't comment on the case due to the pending lawsuit but did state that it does "not appear" that an internal investigation had been performed.
A.G.'s family has sought $250,000 in a January notice of claim. The family's attorney, Mick Levin, stated, "Our purpose all along has been to get policies and procedures in place to make sure this doesn't happen to any other family."
A.G. has been undergoing therapy and rehabilitation with plans to return to college. Levin said, "She still wants to complete her nursing degree.
She wants to give back what everybody else has given to her."
Levin stated that any monetary compensation will help offset A.G.'s medical bills.
The mother of the woman, M.C., which did die in the accident, has also filed a claim for damages in the amount of $250,000.
A case of personal injury is never a pleasant one. Contact a personal injury lawyer to give you the expertise needed.