BRAIN DEAD?

Death at hospital ruled a homicide

Montrose County Coroner Mark Young said Montrose Memorial Hospital and St. Mary’s Hospital did not follow “accepted medical standards” last month in determining William Rardin, 36, brain dead after shooting himself.
“A test was done on him at St. Mary’s hospital that was not conclusive if brain death had occurred,” Young said. “Everyone is hounding me because I’m not a doctor, but I had an independent neurosurgeon look at it, and he agreed it wasn’t done as well.”
“There’s six tests that can be done to determine if someone is brain dead,” Young said. “Only one was done in this case, and that test wasn’t successfully passed. A confirmatory test should have been completed.”