A Seattle-based couple filed a lawsuit on the 18th against Salem Health in Oregon, alleging negligence after medical staff instructed them to transport the body of their nine-month-old son home in their own vehicle in 2024; they are seeking $10 million in damages. The complaint states that medical staff suggested the child’s body could be laid flat on the back seat or secured in a car seat for the four-hour drive from Salem back to Seattle.
Aleksander Yeremeyev and his wife, Nataliya Yeremeyev, stated in the lawsuit that their son was born with Down syndrome and other medical conditions, requiring hospitalization for most of his life rather than home care. In 2024, the family took their son on his first trip—a Christian retreat in Salem—but the infant developed rapid, shallow breathing during the journey.
The complaint notes that the infant was rushed to the Salem Health emergency department but was pronounced dead on September 22, 2024. Following the death, staff initially instructed the couple to stay away from the body while awaiting a medical examiner, but later informed them that the examiner would not be coming.
When the couple asked how to transport their son’s body back to Seattle—inquiring if a local funeral home could handle the transport in accordance with their religious beliefs and customs—staff dismissed the option as “too expensive” and directed them to transport the body home themselves.
The lawsuit alleges that the hospital staff’s attitude made the couple feel pressured to leave quickly with their son’s body. Concerned that the body might stiffen if placed in a car seat, the couple followed staff instructions to lay the body flat on the back seat and cover it with a blanket.
When the couple asked about obtaining a death certificate and the necessary paperwork for transporting the body to Seattle, hospital staff claimed they lacked the paper to print the documents; emergency physician Stefani Sorensen provided only a handwritten note on a prescription pad stating that the child had died at the hospital.