Southfield to pay over $3M to family of Timesha Beauchamp after 5-year battle

Southfield to pay $3.25M to family of Timesha Beauchamp

The story began in August 2020 when Beauchamp was pronounced dead, placed in a body bag, only to be found alive hours later at a funeral home. Beauchamp died less than two months later. Attorneys say this is a bittersweet end to a long, long legal battle. The settlement will see the City of Southfield pay more than 3 million dollars to Beauchamp’s family, but they are still grieving.

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (FOX 2) - After a five-year legal battle, the City of Southfield will have to pay more than $3 million to the family of Timesha Beauchamp.

Big picture view:

The story began in August 2020 when Beauchamp was pronounced dead, placed in a body bag, only to be found alive hours later at a funeral home. 

Beauchamp died less than two months later.

Attorneys say this is a bittersweet end to a long, long legal battle. The settlement will see the City of Southfield pay more than $3 million to Beauchamp’s family, but they are still grieving.

Timesha Beauchamp was only 20, had cerebral palsy, was nonverbal, and was very much loved. Five years prior, she was having difficulty breathing when Southfield paramedics were called to assist.

After a long session of CPR, she was pronounced dead, but wasn’t actually, waking up in a body bag, only to die less than two months afterward. The case was delayed repeatedly over the years, getting pushed back because of arguments for governmental immunity.

What they're saying:

Now it’s over, but it was a long fight that took a toll.

"Finally they have gotten justice for Timesha. But she’s still gone. They still went through everything they went through, and they still have to mourn her," said attorney Steven Hurbis with Feiger Law. "I think they are happy to a certain extent that justice was finally achieved, but there’s the other side of that where they still have to grieve her loss and everything they went through. And there’s nothing we can do to bring her back."

The City of Southfield provided a statement reading in part:

"We recognize that no resolution can undo the profound tragedy that occurred or ease the pain experienced by Ms. Beauchamp's family," said Hurbis. "The City remains committed to providing the highest quality of emergency medical services to our community and hopes this settlement allows all parties to move forward."