‘Relentlessly Inquired’: California Hospital Told a Mother Her Daughter Checked Out Against Their Advice. A Year Later She Was Found Dead In the Hospital’s Freezer, Lawsuit Says

Bombshell allegations surfaced against a California hospital after a 31-year-old woman thought to be alive and “missing” turned up in an off-site cold storage facility. Jessie Peterson’s forgotten remains had been sitting on shelf number “Red 22 A” for 361 days, and the family claims they were never notified of her death. Now, Mercy San Juan Medical Center in Carmichael is facing a multi-million-dollar negligence lawsuit brought by Peterson’s family. Mercy San Juan Medical Center (Google Maps) On April 6, 2023, Peterson, who had been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was 10, checked herself into the Sacramento-area hospital after a diabetic episode. Two days later, she was pronounced dead, and her body was shuttled to cold storage, where it remained for the next year, unbeknownst to anyone. About two hours before she died, Peterson had a phone conversation with her mother, Ginger Congi, asking to be picked up from the hospital, according to the lawsuit. After Congi was unable to reach her daughter again, she contacted the hospital directly on April 11, 2023, and received surprising news. A staff member said Peterson had checked herself out against medical advice, the lawsuit claims. & After days passed with no...