An 88-year-old man was declared dead from respiratory failure at the Santa Casa hospital in Presidente Bernardes, but showed vital signs while being prepared at a funeral home in interior São Paulo.
The man, a resident of Emilianópolis, was treated on Saturday afternoon, May 16, at the Santa Casa hospital in Presidente Bernardes. The on-duty doctor declared him dead, and the body was sent to the funeral home.
Staff noticed the elderly man was breathing and moving during preparations. They called emergency medical services, which transferred him to a hospital where he remains admitted and stable.
Civil Police registered the case as failure to provide assistance and are investigating through the Presidente Bernardes precinct. Santa Casa said it will not comment until the inquiry concludes.