Declared dead, woman suddenly wakes up in mortuary: Paramedic blunder or tragic error?

In October 2023, Darlington resident Olive Martin suffered a seizure at home and was mistakenly declared dead by paramedics, who transported her to a hospital mortuary instead of A&E. Mortuary staff discovered she was still alive, but she later died from brain damage. A coroner’s inquest is now examining whether crucial treatment time was lost—and whether her life might have been saved.