A family in California is suing White Memorial Hospital after their 80-year-old mother was prematurely declared dead and allegedly froze to death in the morgue, ABC News reported.
In July 2010, Maria de Jesus Arroyo was declared dead after suffering from a heart attack and placed in the morgue. A few days later, morticians discovered she was face down with a broken nose and cuts and bruises on her body.
Following the incident, Arroyo's husband and eight children filed a lawsuit for mishandling her body.
As the case went on, a pathologist concluded Arroyo was frozen alive after she "eventually woke up," causing the injuries herself as she struggled to escape the "frozen tomb."
"The mortuary found Maria de Jesus Arroyo upside down in the body bag, which told the expert that she was fighting her way out," the family's lawyer Scott Schutzman told WWMT-TV.
In May 2012, her family withdrew their lawsuit and filed a medical malpractice suit instead. However, a judge in Los Angeles County Superior Court threw the case out, ruling it was filed past the one-year statute of limitations.
However, the appellate court ruled the family had "absolutely no reason" to believe their mother was still alive until the pathologist gave his opinion. The case will return to lower court for futher proceedings, ABC News said.
Citing court records, the Los Angeles Times said the hospital has not addressed the allegations. The hospital did not return a call to comment from ABC News.
