Body of Calif. Woman Found in Cold Storage 1 Year After Hospital Said She Checked Out: Lawsuit

In the complaint, Jesse Peterson's family claim the hospital negligently handled her remains and failed to notify them of her death

A family is suing a California hospital for negligence claiming they failed to inform them of their loved one's death for close to a year.

The relatives of Jesse Marie Peterson filed a lawsuit in Sacramento County on Aug. 7 against Mercy San Juan Medical Center, claiming that the hospital committed negligence in failing to notify them of her death and negligence in "adequately" handling her remains, according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE.

Peterson had been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes since age 10 and was admitted to the hospital, where she had previously gone to seek diabetic treatment, on April 6, 2023 due to a diabetic episode, according to the court documents.

Two days later, the 31-year-old woman called her mother, Ginger Congi, and asked to be picked up from the hospital, per the complaint.

Around two hours later, Peterson died of a cardiac arrest while suffering from diabetic ketoacidosis (a lack of insulin to process blood sugar into energy), according to a death certificate obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle.

Related: Single Mom Saves 3-Year-Old Son’s Teddy Bear Before 'Forever' Home Destroyed by Floodwaters

Peterson’s mother Ginger Congi alleged in the complaint that when she called the hospital again on April 11, she had been told that her daughter had "left" the center “against medical advice" and that "there is no one here by that name."

“I asked them to double check, because I'd just seen her a week before, and spoke to her on the telephone," Congi recalled to KCRA-TV. "[I] spelled her name for them, and the man on the phone said, 'Well, we don't have anybody here by that name.’ ”

Related: Circus Performer Hospitalized After Horrifying Fall from Tightrope onto Metal Floor: ‘Her Leg Gave Way’

Congi said she and her two other daughters filed a missing person’s report and searched for Peterson until she got a call from a Sacramento County Sheriff’s detective on April 12, 2024 confirming her daughter's death. The family later found out that Peterson's remains were transferred from Mercy San Juan Medical Center to one of the medical center's off-site cold storage facilities after she died, per the court documents.

Peterson’s death certificate was issued on April 5, 2024, 361 days after she died, and her family’s complaint alleges that this should have been done within 15 hours of her death.

The Peterson family’s attorney, Marc Greenberg, told KCRA-TV that the center "was bound and required by California law to issue a death certificate within 15 hours and to contact the family of the next of kin," and they "did neither."

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Dignity Health did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment, but told ABC News 10 and KCRA-TV in a statement: "We extend our deepest sympathies to the family during this difficult time. We are unable to comment on pending litigation."

The Peterson family’s lawsuit is seeking more than $5 million in damages and a jury trial from Mercy San Juan Medical Center, per the complaint.

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.