Woman found in hospital storage a year after family was told she had checked out

A tragic story has surfaced involving a family’s year-long search for their missing loved one, Jessie Peterson. They were initially told by Mercy San Juan Medical Center in Sacramento, California, that she had checked herself out of the hospital.

However, after months of searching, they discovered that Jessie had died shortly after her admission in April 2023, and her body had been stored without their knowledge.

Jessie, 31, had type 1 diabetes, a condition that requires careful medical attention. Before her death, she had experienced a diabetic emergency and was admitted to the hospital on April 6, 2023. During a phone call with her mother, she mentioned that she would be discharged soon, but tragically, she passed away just two hours later.

Despite Jessie’s death, the hospital did not notify her family. Instead, they stored her body in an off-site facility. For nearly a year, her family searched for her, speaking with local residents, putting up flyers, and contacting authorities, but to no avail. It wasn’t until April 2024 that they learned the devastating truth: Jessie had died in the hospital shortly after their last conversation.

A lawsuit has since been filed by Jessie’s family against the hospital and Dignity Health, accusing them of negligence, emotional distress, and mishandling Jessie’s remains. The family alleges that the hospital failed in its duty to notify them of her death and allowed her body to decompose in a storage facility for nearly a year.

The state of her remains made it impossible for the family to have an open-casket funeral or conduct an autopsy that could have determined whether medical malpractice was involved.

Jessie’s family is seeking over $5 million in damages, arguing that the hospital’s actions were careless and heartless. Dignity Health has expressed condolences but declined to comment further due to ongoing litigation.

This tragic case highlights the importance of proper communication and care in medical facilities, ensuring that families are informed during times of loss.

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