Stroke patient dies—family finds out a week later upon visit to hospital

Two relatives of Bradford Brown walked into a hospital lobby bearing snacks for the 70-year-old who, they believed, was still being treated for breathing problems after suffering a stroke.

It turns out Brown had been dead for a week, but the family was never informed. What they found instead, according to The Washington Post, was an empty bed and a nurse asking a colleague, “Do they not know he expired?”

In addition, the hospital—United Medical Center in Washington, D.C.—lost track of his body for several days, according to Brown’s family.

“We haven’t even seen his body yet,” An-Nas Osiris Bey, a family friend, told The Post for a story published Sept. 1, a month after Brown’s death. “We don’t even know if he’s really dead.”

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Daniel joined TriMed’s Chicago editorial team in 2017 as a Cardiovascular Business writer. He previously worked as a writer for daily newspapers in North Dakota and Indiana.

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