Beaumont asks federal court to dismiss Titus Cromer's case, remove life support

Kristen Jordan Shamus
Detroit Free Press
Titus J. Cromer Jr. poses for a photo in August.

Beaumont Health filed a motion this week in U.S. District Court in Detroit to dismiss a case involving a 16-year-old boy on life support at its Royal Oak Hospital. 

Titus J. Cromer Jr., a student at the University of Detroit Jesuit High School who lives in Lathrup Village, has been hospitalized since Oct. 17 at Beaumont, where he was taken for emergency treatment following an undisclosed brain injury. 

Beaumont contends that medical tests conducted Oct. 24 showed that Titus has no brain activity, even in the brain stem, and that he meets the definition of brain death under the law. The hospital system wants to remove Titus from life support, saying that he will never recover. 

His mother, LaShauna Lowry, says that diagnosis is wrong. She sought a court order to keep the hospital system from disconnecting her son from life support, and has also gotten outside medical opinions about his condition. She would like to have Titus transferred to a long-term care facility.

However, Titus can't be moved from Beaumont until a doctor performs a tracheostomy, which is a surgically placed tube that is inserted through the his throat to make it easier to continue on ventilator support, Rasor said. He also needs a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy feeding tube, also known as a PEG tube, surgically placed through the abdomen and into his stomach.

Beaumont contends that Titus is dead, and therefore it is unethical for doctors to perform any procedure. 

More:Outside doctor: Titus Cromer is not brain-dead. Family continues fight with Beaumont

More:'We're living a nightmare, and we feel trapped,' says Titus Cromer's mother

More:Understanding brain death vs. states of consciousness

Oakland County Circuit Judge Hala Jarbou intervened Oct. 28, issuing a temporary restraining order on Lowry's behalf, requiring Beaumont to continue to care for Titus, keeping him connected to a ventilator and a feeding tube so his organs would keep working until the case could be heard. 

But Jarbou later dismissed the case, ruling on Nov. 7 that state probate court has exclusive jurisdiction in the case. 

Titus Jermaine Cromer Jr., 16, of Lathrup Village is on life support at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak. Doctors say he's brain dead, but his family wants more time to see if he can recover from his injuries.

Lowry's lawyer, James Rasor, then filed a motion in federal court, and got another temporary restraining order to require Beaumont to continue to care for Titus as the case was being considered. 

U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith ordered Nov. 18 that attorneys for Beaumont and Rasor should negotiate with the help of a magistrate to see whether a resolution could be reached in the case. They have met several times, but have yet to reach an agreement. 

In court documents filed Wednesday, Beaumont's attorney, Michael Price, wrote: "Sadly, no amount of litigation is going to change the fact that Titus Jermaine Cromer, Jr. (“Titus”) was pronounced dead on October 24, 2019 following the 'irreversible cessation of all function of [his] entire brain, including the brain stem.'

"... Plaintiff has now filed a total of five complaints — an original and two amendments in Oakland County Circuit Court and an original and amended complaint before this Court— none of which have asserted a viable claim against Beaumont Health.

"... Beaumont respectfully seeks an order bringing this case to a close as Plaintiff has not, and cannot, assert a viable claim against Beaumont."

Price cited case law in his motion, and argues that Michigan's Determination of Death Act allows hospitals to stop medical care after a patient has been declared dead without fear of liability.  

"Plaintiff effectively argues that she has the sole 'right to determine the care, custody and control of her son' notwithstanding the pronouncement of death ..." Price writes in the motion on behalf of Beaumont. "That is simply not so. A hospital has the right to stop medical care once it determines that the patient has died."

Titus Jermaine Cromer Jr., 16, of Lathrup Village is on life support at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak. Doctors say he's brain dead, but his family wants more time to see if he can recover from his injuries.

Lowry's attorney, Jim Rasor, said Thursday that it's disappointing Beaumont's lawyer would file a motion to dismiss the case while they remain in negotiations with the court magistrate. 

"It's reprehensible that they would be filing that while we're working diligently to get Titus moved to the right facility for him to get the care he needs to recover," he said. "I'm just shaking my head. It's so reprehensible."

Contact Kristen Jordan Shamus: 313-222-5997 or kshamus@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @kristenshamus.