A California hospital is being sued for allegedly taking 361 days to notify a woman’s family of her death, forcing them to launch a statewide search for her recovery.
Jessie Peterson, 31, went to Mercy San Juan Medical Center in Carmichael, about 14 miles from Sacramento, on April 6, 2023, after suffering a diabetic episode. She had been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was 10.
On April 8, 2023, she called her mother, Ginger Congi, to ask her to come pick her up from the hospital. About two hours later, Peterson was dead. The next day, hospital officials transported her body to a warehouse where it remained until the following year.
After several days without hearing from Peterson, her mother called the hospital on April 11, 2023, to check on her. A staff member told her that her daughter had been released from the hospital against medical advice, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Her family launched a massive search operation to try to find the woman. Her relatives reported her missing to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office and the California Department of Justice so that Peterson’s name could be included on their missing persons website.
The family handed out fliers and called police and hospitals looking for her. Peterson’s sister, Angie Rubino, talked to homeless people in the neighborhood where her sister disappeared, in case anyone knew where she was.
On April 12, 2024, a representative from the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office contacted the family to inform them of Peterson’s death.
It had been stored in a cold room labeled “Red 22 A” for 361 days.
The sheriff’s office said a doctor at the hospital filed a death certificate. State law requires medical professionals to file death certificates 15 hours after a patient dies.
The family is now seeking answers and $25 million in damages, including punitive damages, for “gross and inexcusable negligence” in the handling of the woman’s death.
The family said inconsistencies in medical records do not shed light on what happened to Peterson or why it took so long to notify his family of his death.
By the time his family found his body, it was so decomposed that an autopsy could not be performed.
A hospital spokesperson told the newspaper in a statement: “We extend our deepest sympathies to the family during this difficult time. We are unable to comment on pending litigation.”
