Jessie Peterson’s family spent the past year looking for her after a California hospital told them she had checked herself out against medical advice. They’ve now found out that she had actually died back in April 2023.
According to reports, the 31-year-old had died in April 2023 while receiving care at Mercy San Juan medical center. The facility then transported her body to a nearby storage facility without informing her family.
Her mother and sisters only learned about her fate a year later, after having tried to locate her for several months.
The family has since filed a civil lawsuit against the hospital, describing their conduct as ‘outrageous and malicious’.
They have also accused the hospital of negligence. More specifically, negligent infliction of emotional distress and negligent handling of an individual’s remains.
The lawsuit states that the hospital failed to notify the patient’s family at the time of her death. Her body was also shipped to an off-site storage warehouse, where she was left to decompose for the past year as her loved ones continued to search for her.
Peterson, who had type 1 diabetes, was admitted to the hospital on April 6, 2023, after experiencing a diabetic episode. According to her mother, Peterson had asked for a ride a couple of days later as she would be discharged from the hospital.
When her mother called the hospital three days later to speak with her daughter, however, she was told she had left the hospital against her doctors’ advice and that they ‘didn’t have anyone there by that name’.
Her mother insisted for the hospital to check again and that she had just talked to her daughter a few days ago, but they once again told her they did not have anyone there by that name.
Following her disappearance, her loved ones frantically searched for her, posting flyers, and contacting police.
More than a year after she was last seen, her family was informed by the county defective’s office on April 12, 2024, that she was found dead at Mercy San Juan. Her death certificate, which was filled out in April 2024, stated that she had passed away from cardiopulmonary arrest.
Peterson’s sister immediately went to the coroner’s office, but was told they did not have her remains and directed her to the hospital instead. However, Mercy San Juan was not responsive to their inquiries.
It wasn’t until later on that a mortuary told them that Peterson’s body was at an off-site storage facility that belonged to the hospital.
By then, her body was so badly decomposed that her loved ones could not hold an open casket funeral, nor obtain her fingerprints. This made an autopsy – one that could potentially indicate whether or not there was medical malpractice – impossible.
Peterson’s family is now seeking over $5 million damages.
According to the lawsuit, Dignity Health, the corporation that operates Mercy San Juan Hospital, has never apologized to Peterson’s family for the ordeal. They did, however, offer them ‘their deepest sympathies during this difficult time’.
