Brazilian Crematorium Worker Discovers That A 'Dead' Woman In A Body Bag At The Morgue Is Still Alive

A hospital in Brazil has some explaining to do after it sent a 90-year-old woman, who was still alive, to the morgue. She had been pronounced dead a couple of hours before a crematorium worker discovered that she was still alive.

According to the Brazilian newspaper the Estadão, staff at the Sao Jose Regional Hospital pronounced Norma Silveira da Silva dead late Saturday night. She was placed in a body bag and sent to the morgue.

Dead woman (not pictured) found to be still alive in body bag at morgue (Image Credit: Getty)

Jéssica Silvi Pereira, the woman's caregiver, told the newspaper that Norma had been admitted to the hospital on Friday in very poor health. On Saturday, she and the woman's son were told she had died from a "urinary tract infection" according to the death certificate.

After spending a couple of hours in a body bag in the morgue, the crematorium worker opened it and found that the 90-year-old woman was still alive. He allegedly told Pereira, that the woman was still warm and that her body did not show signs of rigor mortis.

Pereira said that after spending almost two hours inside the body bag Norma "almost suffocating to death." Once she was found to be alive, she was transported back to the hospital.

Officials Are Investigating How The Woman Could Have Been Pronounced Dead When She Was Still Alive

Unfortunately, she was pronounced dead a second time early Monday morning. Her second death certificate, in a matter of a couple of days, listed the cause of death as "septic shock."

The matter is being investigated. It's not known at this time if Norma's first trip to the morgue, the one she took while she was still alive, played a role in her death or not.

Pereira says that Norma's family is planning to sue the hospital. You certainly can't blame the family for that. These kinds of mistakes can't happen.

I understand things like tools getting lost in a body during surgery. Or even stitches being left behind that should have been removed. Stuff like that happens.

Trust me, I had some stitches left behind years ago, before the dissolvable ones were all the rage. That was uncomfortable when the itching kicked in.

I'm not saying I'm a hero or anything, I'm merely pointing out that sometimes things happen when visiting the doctor. What can't happen is someone being pronounced dead who is actually alive.