A Seattle couple has filed a $10 million lawsuit alleging that Oregon hospital staff left them with no choice but to drive their dead infant son home in their private vehicle. Aleksandr and Nataliya Yeremeyev brought the complaint against Salem Health and Dr. Stefani Sorensen.

Their son, Michael, was nearly 9 months old when he died suddenly in the emergency room at Salem Health Hospital. Michael was born with Down syndrome and spent the first six months of his life at Seattle Children's Hospital.

The family was visiting Salem, Oregon, for a religious retreat on September 22, 2024, when Michael developed rapid, shallow breathing late at night. His parents rushed him to the hospital, where he died, according to the complaint.

After Michael’s death, the parents asked hospital employees how they could arrange respectful transportation of his body to Seattle. Staff allegedly discouraged them from contacting a local funeral home because it would be “too expensive” and pressured them to transport Michael themselves.

Family attorney Anna Bruckenhoefer said the parents repeatedly asked the hospital for guidance about what they should do next. The events unfolded overnight, and the family allegedly felt rushed into making an agonizing decision.

“This was all occurring overnight. They felt rushed that they had to make quick decisions and the hospital left them with no choice other than to take Michael's body with them and head back to Seattle.”

Aleksandr then drove approximately four hours from Salem to Seattle with Michael’s body laid across the backseat. Nataliya and the couple’s other children followed him in a separate vehicle, according to the lawsuit.

The complaint says Aleksandr experienced severe emotional distress throughout the journey. He feared being stopped by police, becoming involved in a crash and witnessing the visible deterioration of his child’s body during the drive.

After reaching a funeral home in Seattle, Aleksandr had to clean bodily fluids that had leaked onto the car seat during the trip, the lawsuit alleges. Bruckenhoefer said the parents had wanted assistance and dignified transportation, not responsibility for moving Michael’s body themselves.

Bruckenhoefer acknowledged that transporting a deceased person with the proper permits is legal in Oregon and Washington. She maintained, however, that the family had asked the hospital for help and expected established procedures for handling a child’s body.

“They were looking for help. They were looking for guidance.”

The lawsuit names Salem Health Hospitals & Clinics, Salem Health, Salem Emergency Physicians Service and Sorensen as defendants. It alleges direct negligence, vicarious liability and a breach of the heightened duty of care owed to bereaved parents regarding the respectful treatment and custody of a child’s body.

The Yeremeyev family is seeking $10 million for severe emotional distress and psychological trauma. The parents also plan to amend their complaint to request punitive damages, according to the report.

Salem Health Hospital said it could not discuss details of Michael’s care because of patient privacy and the continuing litigation. Its account said the hospital acted according to the family’s wishes, its policies and state law.

“Salem Hospital responded in accordance with the family’s wishes and followed both hospital policy and Oregon state law in consultation with the appropriate local authorities, including the medical examiner,” Salem Health told Fox 13.

“Care with respect is a guiding principle of clinical practice at Salem Hospital and remains central to how we support patients and families during some of life's most difficult moments. We recognize the profound grief families experience following the loss of a loved one and treat every patient and family with empathy, dignity, and respect,” the statement continued.

Bruckenhoefer said the hospital should have had procedures to assist the Yeremeyev family during what she described as the worst moment of their lives. Instead, she alleged, the hospital compounded their grief by leaving them to manage the transportation themselves.

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