Mother Informs Daughter of Hospital Discharge, but a Year Later Her Body is Discovered in the Morgue | US News
A hospital in California is being sued by a family who were initially informed that their daughter had been discharged, only to discover a year later that she had actually passed away and was kept in the morgue.
Jessie Marie Peterson was admitted to Mercy San Juan Medical Center near Sacramento on 6 April 2023, suffering from Type 1 diabetes, as stated in a lawsuit filed by her family.
After a few days, Jessie’s mother, Ginger Congi, contacted the hospital and was told that Jessie had been discharged, according to the complaint.
Following this, the family filed a missing person’s report with the county sheriff’s department and posted notices in an attempt to locate her.
It was not until April 12, 2024, that the Sacramento County Detective’s Office informed Jessie’s family that she had been discovered deceased at Mercy San Juan hospital, according to the lawsuit.
Jessie Marie Peterson (right) ‘loved her sisters’ according to her mother. Pic: Ginger J. Congi
Ms Peterson died in April 2023 but her family were not informed. Pic: Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office
The family was not informed of Jessie’s passing, leading them to believe she was still alive.
According to hospital records obtained by the family, Jessie’s body was moved to an off-site cold storage unit where it remained for a year.
A year after her death, her death certificate indicated that she died of cardiopulmonary arrest at the age of 31.
The court documents also mention that Jessie’s body was too decomposed for an open casket funeral and that a post-mortem examination could not determine if medical malpractice played a role in her death.
The family accuses the hospital of negligence and is seeking over $5m (£4.12m) in damages.
The lawsuit states, “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.”
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Ginger Congi told KCRA, the NBC affiliate TV station in Sacramento, that her daughter “loved people… she loved her sisters” and expressed that she felt the hospital lacked “compassion.”
Dignity Health, the operator of the hospital, stated, “We extend our deepest sympathies to the family at this difficult time. We are unable to comment on pending litigation.”
