'Dead' man comes alive moments before autopsy, doctors blamed for 'bad judgment'
A 27-year-old man who was believed to have died after sustaining a severe injury following a road accident showed signs of life moments before his postmortem began. The man, located in India, was admitted to a private hospital where doctors said he would not survive if taken off the ventilator.
Shankar Shanmukh Gombi from the district of Bagalkot in the state of Karnataka suffered serious head injuries from a motorcycle crash on Saturday, February 27, in Mahalingapur, India, and was admitted to a private hospital. Doctors told his family that he would not survive if he was taken off a ventilator, according to The News Minute. Following this, the family announced to their relatives and friends that he was dead. The family then took him to a private hospital in Mahalingapur for a postmortem on Sunday, February 28.
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According to The Times of India, Gombi's family believes that the hospital declared him "dead". One of the family members told the publication, "We brought him by an ambulance on Sunday night to the government hospital in Mahalingapur. Staff at the government hospital declared him dead and sent the body for postmortem. However, a senior officer in the postmortem room who was prepping for the procedure said that he observed movements. On closer examination, he found that he was alive."
Dr SS Galgali was called in by the man's relatives to perform the postmortem. He told The News Minute that when he reached the location, the "body" had not arrived. When he called the family and asked them if the man was still breathing, the family responded that they did not know and that they were using a Bag Valve Mask — known as Ambu Bag — to help him breathe.
When the ambulance carrying the man arrived, a crowd of nearly 2,000 people had gathered and did not let the doctors near Gombi, according to Galgali. Galgali also said that the doctor on duty could not check Gombi properly and that the pulse oximeter did not indicate anything. On seeing this, the crowd of people took Gombi to the postmortem room. There, Galgali asked the doctor to remove the Ambu Bag to check if he was dead. Galgali then said that Gombi began to breathe on his own after a while and started shaking his hands when Galgali tapped it. Galgali then asked for Gombi to be admitted to the hospital for further treatment.
A government health official confirmed the incident to AFP, according to outlet Latestly. The official also reported that doctors at the private hospital had exercised "bad judgment" and Gombi is now receiving treatment in another hospital where his condition is improving.
