County Sued by Family of North Carolina Man Falsely Declared Dead

By EinsteinCMS Administrator

Published on January 07, 2008

Larry Green was walking across a highway in 2005 when he was struck by a car. He was pronounced dead at the scene and was placed in a body bag and transported to the morgue. It wasn't until roughly 2 1/2 hours after the accident that the medical examiner noticed Green was still alive.

Green suffered a severe head injury, a broken leg, and other injuries. He now lives in a nursing home and has been slow to recover from his injuries.

The lawsuit, filed earlier this month, alleges that medical officials performed an inadequate check of Green’s vital signs immediately following the accident. It also claims that the medical examiner ignored signs that Green was still alive upon receiving him into the morgue.

The examiner, J.B. Perdue, argued that it is not the responsibility of the medical examiner to determine whether or not a person has died, but only to determine the cause of death after a victim has been pronounced dead.

An attorney representing Franklin County was not available for comment.

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