Lawsuit: apparent mistake leads to a stranger’s death Posted on January 29, 2019 by Andrew Findley A Brooklyn woman says she was misinformed by hospital staff that a man by the same name as her brother was brain dead and she authorized removing him from life support — but her real brother was in jail, and she sent a stranger to his death, according to the New York Post. 48-year-old Shirell Powell has filed a lawsuit in Bronx Supreme Court over the fatal mistake. The incident began July 15 at St. Barnabas Hospital, when Powell was notified that Freddy Clarence Williams had been admitted because of an apparent drug overdose. Her brother had been a patient at St. Barnabas before, according to the Washington Post, and the hospital still had Powell listed as an emergency contact. It was only after Williams’ autopsy that Powell learned the truth: the man who died after being removed from life support was a different Fred Williams. You can read the complaint here.
