Esmeralda Hernandez delivered her stillborn baby, Jose, in the Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 2013. The family mourned their loss but arranged for what they considered to be a respectful treatment of their baby's remains, NDTV reported.
Two weeks later, the family heard that the body of an infant born at Regions Hospital and still wearing a diaper and hospital identification bracelets had been found in a laundry facility in Red Wing, a town 45 miles south of the hospital. The baby was confirmed as Jose. According to the hospital, Jose was mistakenly thrown out by a hospital employee who allegedly thought he was a pile of dirty linen.
When the laundry facility's staff found the infant's body, they called Regions Hospital. However, neither Crothall Laundry Services nor Regions Hospital notified police. When police contacted Regions Hospital, they stated that the baby's mother had agreed to dispose of her child's body without a funeral.
In a lawsuit filed this month, the Hernandez family is claiming that the hospital's actions demonstrate their "disregard" for and "indifference" to Jose's body. They are also accusing the hospital of withholding information from them about where their baby was found.
"Laundry workers gawked at baby Jose, took photos of him, and sent pictures of him into cyberspace," the lawsuit states, adding that 10 Hernandez family members are each suing in excess of $50,000 for their mental pain and suffering.
According to a statement released on Monday by a Regions Hospital spokesperson to the Pioneer Press, "We [the hospital] want to say again that we are truly sorry for our mistake. We immediately reached out to the family in 2013 to apologize and try and help ease their loss. We have continued to work with their lawyer — always open to a reasonable solution."
A few days after Jose was found, another stillborn baby, named Chang, born at Regions only four days after Jose, went missing and was also "most probably delivered to the same laundry service," the lawsuit states. Chang's remains have not yet been found.
