Hospital calls wrong family to pull plug on brain dead man and they did

[moriah]

8. They use various means, including the Internet.

I know, because that's how the ER docs found me when my father collapsed on the streets in another state.

Now, we were lucky -- I'd placed an adoption search entry up for his two other children once they'd turned 18, and included the name of the social worker and the county she fortunately still worked in. Even more fortunate, Dad had returned to that same county just a few months before they found him.

So when they Googled, they were able to find someone with his full name AND a direct tie to the county he was found in. AND a local contact who could confirm if the patient was likely to be the same person. And, since the social worker and I had spoken prior to me placing the information online, she had my email.

Yes, I received the notice via email. But there are also people search engines, and if they were going by those... often if you pay, there will be phone numbers available.