Funeral Home Was Set to Embalm a 'Dead' Woman — Who Was Still Breathing. Here's What Her Mom Now Says By Nicole Acosta

The mother of a 20-year-old woman who was mistakenly declared dead and nearly embalmed while she was still alive is speaking out for the first time, five years after the incident.

Timesha Beauchamp, who had cerebral palsy, was declared dead via phone by an emergency room doctor at her Southfield, Mich., home in August 2020, PEOPLE previously reported, citing a family attorney.

A spokesperson for the Oakland County Medical Examiner’s Office told PEOPLE at the time that Beauchamp’s death declaration was based on real-time medical data, including heartbeat and breathing, that was provided by responding authorities and EMS personnel.

But Beauchamp was still breathing and had her eyes open when she arrived at a funeral home in a body bag with a worker prepared to embalm her body. 

Beauchamp’s mother, Erica Lattimore, recently spoke to the public as she pursues legal action against the Southfield Fire Department’s EMS workers. 

“That’s devastating to a family already to hear she’s deceased, prepare your mind mentally that you have to prepare a funeral initially and then to hear someone say, ‘No, your child is alive,'” Lattimore said at a press conference, WXYZ-TV reported on Oct. 14.

In a statement, Lattimore’s attorneys alleged that the Beauchamp’s breathing was “severely restricted” while she was believed dead and in transport to the funeral home, leading to her actual death two months later.

The attorneys, Jennifer Damico and Steven Hurbis of Fieger Law, say the family has been “denied their day in court” due to government “gamesmanship.”

“The family has been denied their day in court because of three postponements of the trial,” reads the statement. “Most recently, at the 11th hour, 3 days before trial, the government again sought another delay of the trial.”

“Because of governmental immunity laws in Michigan, the defendants are entitled to automatic appeals on certain issues,” the statement continues. “This allowed the government to engage in gamesmanship up until the very eve of trial and further delay accountability. The defendants have pulled every procedural lever to avoid being held responsible for their egregious actions. The family deserves their day in Court.”

The Southfield Fire Department did not immediately return a request for comment from PEOPLE.

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Beauchamp’s mother says she’s not going to stop pursuing justice.

“I’m not giving up,” Lattimore said, per WDIV-TV. “I will go through the long haul, however long it takes. She lived 20 years. If it takes 20 more years for this to get heard in court and God gives me the breath, I’m there.”