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Woman sues NY hospital after they identified wrong man as brother and took him off life support with her permission

Shirell Powell was contacted to identify a severely brain damaged man the hospital claimed was her brother, only to later be told after his death that it was a case of mistaken identity

A woman is suing a New York City hospital after they contacted her seeking permission to take a man — who they said was her brother but who turned out to be another man with the same name — off life support because he was brain dead.

Shirel Powell from Brooklyn is now suing St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx for "unspecified damages" for making her take the life of the wrong man.

According to the New York Post, Powell was contacted by the hospital in July last year to identify a man who had been admitted to the hospital unconscious from an apparent drug overdose.

The man's Social Security card identified him as Freddy Clarence Williams, 40. After looking at their records, the hospital saw that a Frederick Williams had been treated before, and erroneously called up Powell, telling her that her brother, Frederick Williams, who also is 40 but has no middle name, had been admitted and was near death.