DETROIT, Mich. — A group of siblings is demanding answers from a Michigan hospital after they say their father spent some of his final days listed as a John Doe, even though he had plenty of identification.
James Earl White, 66, was an avid bowler, according to his children. He died Aug. 27 at Beaumont Hospital in Dearborn, Michigan. (Source: Paige White/Facebook/WXYZ/CNN)The White siblings say their father, 66-year-old James Earl White, was taken to the hospital Aug. 20 after a traffic accident. They believe he ran into another vehicle while having a stroke.
"I don't know what he was treated for, if he was treated, if he just sat there,” said Paige White, James Earl White’s daughter.
The family says James Earl White was admitted to Beaumont Hospital in Dearborn, Mich., as a John Doe, even though he had multiple forms of identification on him.
A day after the accident, the family grew worried because they had not heard from him, so they went to the hospital and spoke with intake and administrators. They were assured their father had not been admitted.
Two police departments and ambulance services said otherwise.
"Begging and pleading at this point, and everybody is just kind of stoic, unmoved by us,” Paige White said.
Two days later, another hospital called to say James Earl White was indeed at Beaumont Hospital. His children arrived to find their father in critical condition.
"He was literally being hooked up to life support as we were walking in,” said Chanelle White, James Earl White’s daughter.
James Earl White died Aug. 27.
The siblings say the hospital gave them a bag of their father’s belongings, which had multiple forms of identification inside. They say he was also wearing a dialysis bracelet with personal contact information on it because he suffered from chronic kidney disease.
"I feel like I have to find the strength to get this story out, so it doesn’t happen to anybody else,” Paige White said.
Beaumont apologized to the White family in a statement.
"The process to connect this patient with his family took longer than we desire, and we apologize for the stress this created. We are taking steps to prevent something like this from happening again,” read the statement in part.
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