The Strange Story Of Essie Dunbar, The Woman Who Was Allegedly Buried Alive In 1915

The stethoscope, by 1915, had been in clinical use for nearly a century and was a standard tool of medical practice.

But even with a stethoscope, a very slow heart rate, very shallow breathing, and cold extremities from circulatory depression could, in a rushed or uncertain examination, potentially be misinterpreted.

The question of whether Dr.

Briggs made a genuine medical error or whether the story has been amplified in the telling is not answerable from the available evidence.

What is clear is that the scenario described — a misdiagnosis of death in an epileptic patient — is not medically impossible, even if it would be considered an extraordinary professional failure by the standards of the time.

The Long Shadow of Premature Burial Fear