Family sues hospital for losing a body

• Tweet

CHICAGO, June 29 (UPI) -- A family filed a lawsuit against Cook County (Ill.) and St. Bernard Hospital after the hospital allegedly took two weeks to identify the body of a relative.

The family of Brian Warren filed the lawsuit Thursday, claiming the hospital held Warren's body from Dec. 29, 2011, to Jan. 11, 2012, before identifying him, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Warren's relatives checked with the Cook County morgue and were told Warren wasn't there. His relatives said they then assumed he was alive and filed a missing person's report with the Chicago Police Department, the newspaper said.

Warren's relatives claimed Warren had identification on him when he was taken to the hospital. Warren's family said the morgue told them all the unidentified bodies from Dec. 25 to Jan. 8 had been identified. Warren's body was found at the morgue Jan. 11.

The lawsuit seeks $3 million in punitive damages.

St. Bernard Hospital and Cook County medical examiner officials declined to comment, the Tribune said.