A grandmother believed to be dead was mistakenly placed in a body bag and stored in a freezer, only to be discovered alive later on. Maria de Jesus Arroyo suffered a cardiac arrest at her home in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, on July 26, 2010. She was taken to White Memorial Medical Center, where she was initially declared deceased. However, when mortuary staff retrieved her from the refrigerated hospital morgue days later, they found her in a disturbing state with injuries to her face.
The family of the 80-year-old woman filed a lawsuit against the hospital, claiming that she had been placed in a morgue freezer while still alive, ultimately succumbing to the extreme cold. A pathologist hired by the family determined that Maria had been alive when she entered the freezer and had sustained injuries while attempting to escape the body bag after awakening in the icy conditions.
In court documents, the pathologist stated that Maria had been “frozen alive,” regained consciousness, and struggled in vain to free herself, causing facial injuries and positioning herself face down. The family first filed a negligence claim in January 2011, followed by a wrongful death and medical malpractice lawsuit after receiving the pathologist’s report in 2012. Although a lower court initially dismissed the case due to statute-of-limitations constraints, California’s Second District Court of Appeal reinstated the lawsuit, acknowledging the family’s lack of awareness regarding Maria’s condition.
White Memorial Medical Center has consistently denied any wrongdoing, asserting that they adhered to proper protocols throughout the incident. The hospital expressed confidence in prevailing in court, emphasizing their compliance with established procedures. Attorney Scott Schutzman, who represented the Arroyo family, described the situation as a harrowing ordeal, highlighting the unimaginable struggle of trying to escape a zippered bag.
The Mirror sought a comment from White Memorial Medical Center regarding the incident.