Mother told daughter was discharged from hospital, but a year later her body is found in the morgue

Aug 23, 2024

A family are suing a hospital in California after being told their daughter had been discharged, only to discover a year later she had actually died as a patient and been kept in the morgue.

Jessie Marie Peterson had been suffering from Type 1 diabetes when she was admitted to Mercy San Juan Medical Center near Sacramento on 6 April 2023, according to a lawsuit filed by her family.

Her mother, Ginger Congi, contacted the hospital a few days later and was told Ms Peterson had been discharged, according to the complaint.

The family filed a missing person’s report with the county sheriff’s department and posted notices to try to find her.

“It was not until April 12, 2024, that the Sacramento County Detective’s Office notified Jessie’s family that she was found deceased at Mercy San Juan hospital,” according to the lawsuit.

Her family was not notified when she died, which led them to believe Ms Peterson was still alive.

Her body was transferred to an off-site cold storage unit and kept there for a year, according to hospital records obtained by the family.

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Her death certificate, which was completed a year after she died in April 2024, showed she died of cardiopulmonary arrest at the age of 31.

The court documents also claim that: “Jessie’s body was so decomposed that an open casket funeral was not feasible” and a post-mortem could not determine “whether medical malpractice played any role” in her death.

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The family allege the hospital was negligent and are seeking more than $5m (£4.12m) in damages.

“Defendants’ failure to issue a timely certificate of death, failure to notify Jessie’s next of kin, failure to allow an autopsy, and mishandling of Jessie’s remains [was] negligent, careless, and heartless,” the lawsuit states.

Ms Congi told KCRA, the NBC affiliate TV station in Sacramento, that her daughter “loved people… she loved her sisters” adding that she felt the hospital lacked “compassion”.

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Dignity Health, which operates the hospital, said in a statement: “We extend our deepest sympathies to the family at this difficult time. We are unable to comment on pending litigation.”

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