Several California hospitals are facing legal action for allegedly misleading families about the circumstances surrounding the deaths of their loved ones, according to multiple lawsuits. The Dignity Health medical group is at the center of these allegations, with families accusing the group of potential organ harvesting without consent, dishonesty about a patient’s discharge, and improper handling of deceased patients’ bodies.
One of the lawsuits involves Jessie Peterson, a 31-year-old woman with Type I diabetes. Peterson was admitted to Mercy San Juan Medical Center in Sacramento in April 2023 following a diabetic episode. She died less than two hours after calling her mother to pick her up, but her family was not informed of her death. Instead, they were told that Peterson had discharged herself against medical advice. The lawsuit alleges that Peterson’s body was placed in cold storage and forgotten, leading her family to file a missing person report. Over a year later, her body was discovered at the same hospital where she died.
By the time Peterson’s family was able to retrieve her remains, decomposition had advanced to the point where her tattoos were unrecognizable, and an open casket funeral was not possible.
Another case involves Tonya Walker, a 51-year-old mother of four who died at Dignity Health’s Mercy General Hospital in Sacramento in November 2023. Walker’s family was not notified of her death, and her body was allegedly left decomposing in improper storage for seven months. The lawsuit claims that Walker’s eyes and skin appeared to have been surgically removed, suggesting unauthorized organ donation.
The third case involves Michael Gray, who died of an overdose at Mercy San Juan Medical Center in July 2022. Despite having identification on him, Gray was treated as a “John Doe” and his body was placed in offsite storage without being autopsied or preserved. The hospital claimed to have contacted Gray’s family, but allegedly dialed the wrong number and failed to follow up.
In all three cases, the deceased had identifying information and current addresses, yet their families were not informed of their deaths. Legal proceedings are ongoing in the Peterson and Walker cases, while Gray’s case was settled out of court.
Dignity Health has responded to all of the lawsuits but declined to comment on the allegations.