California, US - Jessie Peterson, 31, missing for a year found dead in hospital’s storage facility, hospital had told family she had checked out

[JennieM]

US hospital told family their daughter had checked out when in fact she’d died

Jessie Peterson’s family spent a year searching for her after they were told that she had checked herself out of a California hospital against medical advice – before they learned that she had been dead all along.

[…]

“Mercy San Juan hospital failed in its most fundamental duty to notify Jessie’s family of her death,” the lawsuit states. “Mercy San Juan stored Jessie in an off-site warehouse morgue and she was left to decompose for nearly a year while her family relentlessly inquired about her whereabouts.”

[…]

Congi was later told that Peterson had left the hospital against medical advice, and her medical records indicate she was discharged on 8 April. After her sudden disappearance, the family spent months “relentlessly” searching for her, posting flyers, speaking with unhoused residents in the area, and contacting police and the coroner’s office, according to the lawsuit.

[…]

Her body was so decomposed the family could not obtain her fingerprints or hold an open casket funeral, and an autopsy that could have indicated whether there had been medical malpractice associated with her death was “rendered impossible”, according to the lawsuit.

[…]

US hospital told family their daughter had checked out when in fact she’d died

Family of Jessie Peterson, 31, spent a year searching for her before learning hospital had shipped body to storage facility

www.theguardian.com

 

[JennieM]

California law requires physicians to fill out a death certificate within 15 hours of a death. Peterson’s wasn’t filed for 361 days, according to the lawsuit.

[…]

According to Greenberg, family members also have found inconsistencies in the medical documents they’ve received, raising further questions about Peterson’s death.

One record indicates that Peterson pulled out her own intravenous line at one point, but two others state a nurse disconnected it, Greenberg said.

A California hospital told her family she left. Her body was found in cold storage months later, suit says

Jessie Peterson's family searched nearly a year for her. In a lawsuit, they allege Mercy San Juan Medical Center failed to tell them she died, and instead put her body in cold storage.

www.latimes.com

 

[Rikissa]

One record indicates that Peterson pulled out her own intravenous line at one point, but two others state a nurse disconnected it, Greenberg said.

Both could be true, JP might have pulled the intravenous needle at one point, and got a new one if she needed more fluids, and that needle was later disconnected.

 

[Dotta]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1826630256603595152

 

[Aycheff]

Wow. This is egregious.

 

[formerlyme]

what a horrible nightmare, I cannot imagine...

 

[Charlot123]

The cause of death is unknown, but could be natural in a person checking herself into a hospital for type I diabetes episode. The rest is total disorganization. If they didn’t realize they had a body decomposing at the hospital premises for a year. The hospital appears very busy, btw.

 

[dalsglen]

I wonder how many other missing people are in that offsite warehouse morgue...

 

[Catmommy]

I'm wondering how she was discovered.

 

[musicaljoke]

I wondered if she might have been one of the many people who sadly died of Covid when hospitals were struggling to handle all the deceased bodies. But she died in April 2023, and by then, hospital routines were starting to return to normal.

"The 31-year-old died in the care of Mercy San Juan medical center in Sacramento in April 2023. The hospital shipped her body to a storage facility and did not inform her mother and sisters."

US hospital told family their daughter had checked out when in fact she’d died

Family of Jessie Peterson, 31, spent a year searching for her before learning hospital had shipped body to storage facility

www.theguardian.com

 

[JennieM]

Jessie Peterson’s body was taken to a cold-storage facility and placed on shelf “Red 22 A,” and remained there for 361 days, according to a lawsuit filed by her family.

Jessie Peterson, right, with her sister, Angie Rubino

Photos: Ginger J. Congi

A California hospital told her family she left. Her body was found in cold storage months later, suit says

Jessie Peterson's family searched nearly a year for her. In a lawsuit, they allege Mercy San Juan Medical Center failed to tell them she died, and instead put her body in cold storage.

www.latimes.com

 

[JennieM]

According to Greenberg, family members also have found inconsistencies in the medical documents they’ve received, raising further questions about Peterson’s death.

[…]

Another record states that a chest X-ray was done when she checked in on April 6, 2023, and was compared with a subsequent scan done on May 31, 2023.

“She was dead and in cold storage by then, so what did [they] compare it to?” Greenberg said.

A California hospital told her family she left. Her body was found in cold storage months later, suit says

Jessie Peterson's family searched nearly a year for her. In a lawsuit, they allege Mercy San Juan Medical Center failed to tell them she died, and instead put her body in cold storage.

www.latimes.com

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Peterson's family began a relentless search, filing a missing persons report, reaching out to the community, posting flyers with her photo throughout the city, even getting her name added to the US Department of Justice website for missing persons.

Finally, more than a year after her disappearance, a phone call from a detective with the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office gave them the news they had dreaded: A death certificate had been issued for Jessie

One of Jessie's sisters went to the Sacramento County Coroner's Office but was told her remains were not there. Instead, she was told to contact the hospital.

Peterson's mother, Ginger Congi, reached someone at the hospital who told her they would call back. No call came immediately, but a mortuary later contacted Congi and said Jessie's body had been found at one of the hospital's off-site cold storage facilities.

Her body was too decomposed for an autopsy.

As it turned out, Jessie had died about two hours after her last call to her mother.

A California woman died at the hospital. Her family, unaware, searched for her for over a year

A lawsuit filed in California alleges a hospital misplaced a patient and failed to notify her family. Here is what the family says happened.

abc7chicago.com

 

[Trebor5591]

According to Greenberg, family members also have found inconsistencies in the medical documents they’ve received, raising further questions about Peterson’s death.

[…]

Another record states that a chest X-ray was done when she checked in on April 6, 2023, and was compared with a subsequent scan done on May 31, 2023.

“She was dead and in cold storage by then, so what did [they] compare it to?” Greenberg said.

A California hospital told her family she left. Her body was found in cold storage months later, suit says

Jessie Peterson's family searched nearly a year for her. In a lawsuit, they allege Mercy San Juan Medical Center failed to tell them she died, and instead put her body in cold storage.

www.latimes.com

IMO, it seems pretty clear to me that something bad happened to Jessie Peterson while she was in the hospital along the lines of gross negligence or even homicide. Hospital personnel involved then falsified records to try to protect themselves. I hope the truth comes out and those involved are punished and not allowed to work in patient care in the future. I might be wrong but then again, maybe I'm not. IMO.