A Sacramento woman died at the hospital. Her family, unaware, searched for her for more than a year
Sacramento, California (CNN) — A lawsuit filed in California alleges a hospital misplaced a patient and failed to notify her family. Here is what the family says happened:
Jessie Peterson suffered a diabetic episode and was taken to a hospital in Sacramento, California, on April 6, 2023. The 31-year-old spoke with her mother on the phone two days later, asking to be picked up from the hospital.
But that phone call would be the last time her family heard from her.
Peterson’s mother called the hospital three days later, only to be told there was no one there by that name. She said, after persisting, she was told Jessie left the hospital against the advice of her doctors.
Peterson’s family began a relentless search, filing a missing persons report, reaching out to the community, posting flyers with her photo throughout the city, even getting her name added to the US Department of Justice website for missing persons.
Finally, more than a year after her disappearance, a phone call from a detective with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office gave them the news they had dreaded: A death certificate had been issued for Jessie.
One of Jessie’s sisters went to the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office but was told her remains were not there. Instead, she was told to contact the hospital.
Peterson’s mother, Ginger Congi, reached someone at the hospital who told her they would call back. No call came immediately, but a mortuary later contacted Congi and said Jessie’s body had been found at one of the hospital’s off-site cold storage facilities.
Her body was too decomposed for an autopsy.
As it turned out, Jessie had died about two hours after her last call to her mother.
Jessie’s family sues hospital for negligence
Jessie’s fate was detailed in a $25 million dollar lawsuit filed against the hospital.
In the suit, her family said the hospital never notified them of her death and misplaced her body.
The lawsuit accuses Dignity Health/Mercy San Juan Medical Center of negligence, negligent handling of a corpse, negligent infliction of emotional distress and violating California Health and Safety Code.
“We extend our deepest sympathies to the family during this difficult time,” said Dignity Health in a statement. “We are unable to comment on pending litigation.”
Jessie Peterson was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was 10 years old, family attorney Marc Greenberg told CNN. She had been hospitalized for complications of the disease approximately 20 times throughout her life, including twice in the previous months before her death and again for a final time on April 6, 2023, Greenberg said. At times, she battled with addiction and homelessness, he said.
The day after her death, Peterson’s body was taken to a nearby morgue.
“On April 9, 2023, Mercy San Juan hospital transferred Jessie’s body to a cold storage facility. Jessie was placed on Shelf Number Red 22 A and forgotten,” the complaint states.
“Jessie’s family was not notified of Jessie’s passing, despite extensive previous contact between the hospital and Jessie’s family, as well as the fact that Ginger was listed as Jessie’s next of kin,” the suit states.
On April 4, 2024, some 362 days after she died, a death certificate was issued for Jessie Peterson, signed by a doctor at Mercy San Juan Medical Center who is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit.
Just over a week later, a Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office detective told the family Peterson had died.
It is unclear what led to the delay in Peterson’s death certificate being issued. California’s Health and Safety Code states the attending physician must complete the information within 15 hours of a patient’s death.
Decomposition over the course of the year Peterson’s body was in storage would not allow for an open casket funeral or even for an autopsy to be conducted to determine if there was any medical malpractice, the lawsuit states.
“Because Jessie’s death was not reported to family for a year after her death, an autopsy to determine whether medical malpractice played any role in her death was rendered impossible,” according to the filing.
“When they think of her now, they think of her on a shelf in a body bag instead of how she was,” said Greenberg of Peterson’s family. “They don’t really have the closure of knowing what the hell really happened.”
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