Jessie Peterson had a diabetic episode and was admitted to a hospital in Sacramento, California, on April 6, 2023. The 31-year-old called her mother two days later and asked to be picked up from the hospital.
However, that phone conversation would be the last time her family heard from her.
Three days later, Peterson’s mother called the hospital, only to be told that no one with that name was there. She stated that after pressing, she was informed that Jessie had left the hospital against the recommendation of her doctors.
Peterson’s family launched a persistent search, filing a missing people report, reaching out to the community, distributing fliers with her photo throughout the city, and even adding her name to the US Department of Justice’s missing persons webpage.
More than a year after her disappearance, a phone call from a detective with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office delivered the devastating news: Jessie’s death certificate had been issued.
One of Jessie’s sisters went to the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office but was informed that her remains were not present. Instead, she was instructed to contact the hospital.
Ginger Congi, Peterson’s mother, called the hospital and was promised that someone would call her back. There was no immediate call, but a mortuary subsequently phoned Congi and informed him that Jessie’s body had been discovered at one of the hospital’s off-site cold storage facilities.
Her body was too decayed to undergo autopsy.
Jessie had died approximately two hours after her last call to her mother.
Jessie’s family sues the hospital for negligence.
Jessie’s fate was revealed in a $25 million lawsuit filed against the hospital.
In the lawsuit, her family claimed that the hospital never informed them of her death and misplaced her remains.
The lawsuit charges Dignity Health/Mercy San Juan Medical Center with negligence, careless handling of a corpse, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and breaching the California Health and Safety Code.
“We extend our deepest sympathies to the family during this difficult time,” Dignity Health said in a statement. “We are unable to comment on pending litigation.”
Family attorney Marc Greenberg told CNN that Jessie Peterson was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of ten. She had been hospitalized for medical problems around 20 times during her life, including twice in the months leading up to her death and once more on April 6, 2023, according to Greenberg. He admitted that she struggled with addiction and homelessness at times.
Peterson’s body was transported to a neighboring morgue the next day.
“On April 9, 2023, Mercy San Juan Hospital moved Jessie’s body to a cold storage facility. The complaint alleges that Jessie was placed on Shelf Number Red 22 A and then forgotten.
“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,” according to the complaint.
On April 4, 2024, about 362 days after her death, a death certificate was issued for Jessie Peterson, signed by a doctor at Mercy San Juan Medical Center who is not listed as a defendant in the complaint.
Just over a week later, a Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office detective informed the family that Peterson had died.
It is unclear what caused the delay in Peterson’s death certificate being issued. According to California’s Health and Safety Code, the attending physician must complete the information within 15 hours of the patient’s death.
According to the lawsuit, Peterson’s body decomposed over a year in storage, making an open casket funeral impossible, let alone an autopsy to ascertain if there was any medical misconduct.
“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 application.
“When they think of her now, they think of her on a shelf in a body bag instead of how she was,” said Greenberg, Peterson’s family representative. “They don’t have the closure of knowing what the hell really happened.”
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