A woman from California, who her family thought was missing for a year, was actually found deceased and in a state of decomposition in a morgue at a hospital in Northern California. This was revealed through a new lawsuit claiming the hospital failed to inform her family of her passing.

Jessie Marie Peterson, who was 31 years old, passed away at Mercy San Juan Medical Center in Carmichael, California, on April 8, 2023, due to cardiopulmonary arrest. However, her family, including her mother Ginger Congi, did not learn of her death until April 12, 2024, as stated in a civil complaint shared with YSL News.

“I feared the worst, thinking she might be lying somewhere forgotten and that we would never see her again,” Congi said in an interview with YSL News. “It turns out she was lying there decomposing, while someone knew exactly where she was, yet didn’t inform us.”

The lawsuit, filed on August 7 in Sacramento Superior Court, claims that the hospital misled the family by asserting that Peterson had discharged herself on April 8, 2023, against medical advice. In reality, “Jessie had died while being treated at Mercy San Juan,” the complaint asserts.

She had been admitted to the hospital following a diabetic episode on April 6, 2023, as detailed in the lawsuit.

The complaint also indicates that Peterson’s death certificate was not finalized until nearly a year posthumously. Unaware of her passing, her family was left to search tirelessly for her, even filing a Missing Person’s report with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, the legal record states.

The lawsuit specifies that this incident wasn’t an isolated case, as Mercy San Juan has previously mishandled deceased individuals. Since the news of Peterson’s situation emerged, the family’s attorney Marc Greenberg has received accounts from others who have experienced similar issues at Dignity Health facilities.

“We extend our deepest sympathies to the family during this difficult time. However, we cannot comment on ongoing legal matters,” a Dignity Health spokesperson stated to YSL News.

Body discovered in ‘decomposed’ state

The Sacramento County Detective’s Office informed Congi and others on April 12 that Peterson’s body had been located at Mercy San Juan Hospital, according to the complaint. Her remains were stored in the hospital’s off-site morgue facility.

By this time, “Jessie’s body had decomposed to such an extent that an open casket funeral was not possible, and her fingerprints could not even be obtained for keepsakes,” the complaint revealed. “Mercy San Juan claims to take pride in treating everyone with dignity and respect, yet in this instance, they provided neither.”

On the day of her death, Peterson had called her mother, asking for her to come and pick her up from the hospital, which was the last time Congi heard her daughter’s voice. Peterson was pronounced dead by the medical center at 4:27 p.m., just two hours after her call.

“It’s devastating to realize she was merely moved to a storage facility less than a day after death, thrown into a freezer on a shelf, and forgotten,” Congi expressed. “It frustrates me that they treated her like she was just an object.”

Who was Jessie Marie Peterson?

Peterson, raised in Sacramento alongside her sisters Angie and Chandra, is depicted in the lawsuit as a “loving and vivacious person.” She was diagnosed with Type I diabetes at age 10, which impacted her energy levels and involvement in gymnastics during her youth.

“She loved her family dearly, always ready to share even the last Jelly Belly from her pocket, even if it was covered in lint,” Congi shared, as reported by WXIA-TV.

Peterson participated in water polo and dance at Roseville High School before attending Sierra College in Rocklin, California, the complaint notes. She eventually became a prosecuting attorney for the Placer County Peer Court.

Prior to her death, Peterson was admitted to Mercy San Juan Hospital multiple times, including on January 10, 2023, after another diabetic episode, and she underwent surgery at the medical center for an infected foot on January 14, 2023, according to the complaint.

“While to Mercy San Juan hospital a patient who doesn’t survive may seem like just another body, Jessie was a beloved daughter and sister who deserved the respect and dignity that the hospital grossly failed to deliver. Even now, the hospital has not offered any apology to Jessie’s family,” the complaint states.

The family is seeking $5 million in damages as well as “five times the actual damages awarded by the jury” in order to “punish” the medical center for its “outrageous negligence and utter disrespect” towards Jessie, the complaint outlines.