Astonishing twist in case of missing California woman, 31, a year after her family was told she 'walked out of hospital'

A California hospital that treated a woman last April led her family to believe that she was missing for over a year - when in actuality, she died only days after being admitted, a new lawsuit claims.

The mother and two sisters of Jessie Peterson, who had Type 1 diabetes, said they were told by hospital staff that she left 'against medical advice' after getting treatment for a diabetic episode.

Peterson, 31, regularly went to Mercy San Juan Medical Center in Carmichael for diabetes-related complications, according to her family.

Two days after being admitted on April 6, 2023, Peterson called her mother Ginger Congi to come pick her up, according to the lawsuit. 

But a death certificate obtained by SFGate revealed she died from cardiac arrest while experiencing diabetic ketoacidosis less than two hours after calling her mother.

The lawsuit, which is seeking a $15 million judgment against hospital operators Dignity Health, also makes the bombshell claim that Peterson's body was 'forgotten' in the morgue for over a year.

Jessie Peterson, pictured, died in a hospital in April 2023 after getting treated for her Type 1 diabetes. For over a year, her family believed she was missing and spared no effort in searching for her

Peterson was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes as a child. Later in life, she struggled with drug addiction, her mother said. But that didn't stop her from ever maintaining contact with her family

'Jessie's family was not notified of Jessie's passing, despite extensive previous contact between the hospital and Jessie's family,' the suit said. 'Jessie was placed on Shelf Number Red 22 A and forgotten.'

Since the family was under the impression Peterson had simply vanished, they spent months doing everything they could to locate her.

They talked to friends, neighbors, passed out flyers and filed a missing person's report with the county and California's Department of Justice.

Peterson's sister, Angie Rubino, even talked to homeless people in the area around the hospital to see if they could shed any light on their search, The Independent reported.

Everything changed on April 12, 2024, more than a year after Peterson's supposed  disappearance.

That's when a representative from the Sacramento County Sheriff's office allegedly called Congi and informed her that her daughter was found dead in the cold storage area of the hospital.

'We're still very sad, and we still don't have any answers,' Congi told The New York Times. 'It's hard not to be angry.'

Ginger Congi, pictured, decided to file the lawsuit against the hospital after it refused to give her answers

Peterson, center, is pictured with her two sisters, who also helped search for her in the months after her disappearance

The hospital where Peterson died, pictured, allegedly hasn't offered an apology to the family

Congi still doesn't know whether her daughter had been discharged when she died or if she was still being treated. 

The family's lawyer, Marc Greenberg, also provided the Times a copy of Peterson's death certificate, which was signed on April 4, 2024. It said she died on April 8, 2023.

It's still unclear why it took the hospital almost a year to sign off on her death certificate, which are required to be issued within 15 hours under California law. 

Peterson's body was handed over to her family a few days after the gruesome discovery was made, but her remains were 'so decomposed that an open casket funeral was not feasible,' according to the lawsuit.

The advanced decomposition of her body also made it impossible for an autopsy to be performed, rendering a possible medical malpractice claim impossible to substantiate.

'While a patient that doesn't survive may be just another lifeless body to Mercy San Juan hospital, Jessie was a family member, daughter, and sister, all of whom deserved the dignity and respect Mercy San Juan grossly failed to provide.'

'Even to this day, the hospital has not apologized to Jessie's family members,' the lawsuit claimed.

Peterson's family filed a negligence lawsuit against hospital operators Dignity Health, after hospital staff allegedly told them Peterson walked out on her own. This is what led to their belief she was still out there

DailyMail.com reached out to the hospital operators, which have told other outlets that they extend their 'deepest sympathies to the family during this difficult time.'

Congi said Peterson was an avid athlete as a child, doing dance, gymnastics and water polo. She had to scale back on these activities when she was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 10.

As an adult, Peterson had taken a liking to traveling around California but was also struggling with drug addiction. 

'She would go for a year where she was doing really, really good,' Congi said. 'And then she would take that step backwards.'

But even when she was struggling, Peterson was always in contact with her mother.

Congi said she decided to file the lawsuit, which seeks $5 million in actual damages and $10 million in punitive damages, when the hospital stonewalled all of her questions about how Peterson died.

But she admitted that her biggest question will likely never be answered.

'I’d really like to know what happened to Jessie when she was breathing her last moments,' she said.