California woman was believed to be missing while her body decomposed in a hospital morgue: lawsuit
A death certificate for Jessie Peterson was issued on April 4, 2024, almost a year after her death, according to a negligence lawsuit filed in Sacramento County. (The family of Jessie Peterson via Marc R. Greenberg / Tucker Ellis LLP )
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - For more than a year, the family of Jessie Peterson lived in distress and agony, with the belief that the Northern California woman had gone missing. But according to a new lawsuit, it turned out she had been dead the whole time with her body sitting unclaimed and "forgotten" after being moved to a "cold storage facility" by the hospital that had treated her.
The lawsuit filed earlier this month in Sacramento County Superior Court stated that Peterson was admitted to Mercy San Juan Medical Center in Carmichael back on April 6 of last year.
The 31-year-old, who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at an early age, had suffered a diabetic episode.
According to the complaint, medical records indicate that Peterson was discharged on April 8 two days after being admitted.
"In truth, Jessie had died while in the care of Mercy San Juan. Jessie’s Certificate of Death, not completed until nearly a year after her passing, states that she died from cardiopulmonary arrest," the lawsuit said.
SEE ALSO: Lawsuit alleges agencies ignored abuse signs in girl's death
The last time her mother, Ginger Congi, had spoken to her daughter was on April 8, when Peterson had called her mother from the hospital.
About two hours after the call, Peterson was pronounced dead by hospital officials.
However, attorneys for Peterson's family allege, the family was not notified of the death, "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."
Three days later, after her daughter's death, Congi called the hospital asking to be transferred to her room. The mother was first told that there was no one there by that name and then later told that Peterson had been discharged against medical advice, according to the family’s attorneys.
What in fact had happened, according to the suit, was that the day after Peterson’s death, the hospital had moved her body to an offsite morgue storage facility.
"Jessie was placed on Shelf Number Red 22 A and forgotten," the lawsuit stated.
Believing Peterson was missing, her family "relentlessly began a search campaign over the next several months," the complaint said.
A missing persons report was filed with the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office.
Search parties fanned out, flyers were posted as family and friends desperately looked for the woman.
It took more than a year after she died in the hospital, for the family to finally receive word of Peterson’s status.
Earlier this year, on April 12, a Sacramento County sheriff's detective called family members to inform them that Peterson was found deceased, the lawsuit said.
It’s unclear what events took place for the family to be finally notified.
But attorneys said that on April 4, 361 days after Peterson's death, an official death certificate was issued by the hospital.
The lawsuit against Mercy and its owner, Dignity Health, alleges charges including negligent handling of a corpse, negligent infliction of emotional distress, as well as violation of California law that requires hospitals to issue a death certificate within 15 hours of death.
"Jessie was left decomposing for over a year," the suit stated in its cause of action. "Moreover, Jessie’s fingerprints were not obtainable for any keepsake, and Jessie’s family could not say good-by or hold an open casket funeral. The mishandling also denied the family the option of an autopsy."
In a statement to KTVU, Dignity Health said it was not able to comment on the lawsuit due to the pending nature of the ligation. But the health system said, "We extend our deepest sympathies to the family during this difficult time."
The lawsuit seeks $5 million in actual damages and $10 million in punitive damages.
Attorneys for the family of 31-year-old Jessie Peterson said her family searched for the Northern California woman for more than a year before they learned her body was left "forgotten" in an offsite hospital morgue, according to a new lawsuit filed (The family of Jessie Peterson via Marc R. Greenberg / Tucker Ellis LLP )
Jessie Peterson, 31, was admitted into Mercy San Juan Medical Center in Carmichael, Calif. on April 6, 2023, according to a lawsuit filed in Sacramento County Superior Court. (The family of Jessie Peterson via Marc R. Greenberg / Tucker Ellis LLP )
Jessie Peterson's family was notified of her death on April 12, 2024, more than a year after she died in a hospital in Carmichael, Calif., according to a new lawsuit. (The family of Jessie Peterson via Marc R. Greenberg / Tucker Ellis LLP )