Family files lawsuit against Cook County after man goes misidentified for 6 weeks in morgue

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A Chicago family filed a lawsuit against Cook County after their loved one went misidentified for nearly two months.

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The lawsuit alleges neglect, misconduct, and says that the medical examiner's office didn't follow the proper procedures, for notifying next-of-kin.

This, in the case of one man who was in the morgue for almost six weeks.

Attorney Chris Jahnke filed a lawsuit on behalf of Ruthie McKinnie and her family.

The West Roger Park family said they called medical examiner's office in the summer of 2024 multiple times searching for Kelvin Davis.

"I asked them 'Did they had a Kelvin Davis there?' I gave description that he's very tall, 6-foot-4, with freckles, very distinctive looking," Deborah Smith said.

"Not only was she told he wasn't there, but the way she was treated. Just a complete like lack of humanity" Jahnke said.

Davis was in the system, but he identified as Kevin Davis, not Kelvin, due to a wrong name on a police report, and a friend of Davis giving police the wrong information.

The ME's office told the I-Team that Davis did not have an ID on him, and that it worked to match fingerprints, which police say were coming back to other names.

Police and the ME's office eventually figured out that Davis was at the morgue after the family filed a missing person's report with tattoo information.

RELATED | Families protest, sue after allegedly not told relatives at Cook County Medical Examiner's Office

In a past statement the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office said it "takes pride in the work we do to ensure that decedents under our care are treated in a dignified and respectful manner."

Jahnke also represents Christine Muniz and filed a lawsuit on her behalf.

As the I-Team reported in 2021, the office told Muniz that her son David Carroll's body was not there, but he was, for nearly two months.

Because of ABC7's story, the office took disciplinary action. The Cook County Office of Inspector General investigated and found failures and violations.

The medical examiner's office has filed a motion to dismiss Muniz's lawsuit.

RELATED | Misspelled name caused man to sit in Cook County morgue for 6 weeks, family says

Muniz, Mckinnie and another mother with similar allegations have been protesting in recent months.

The medical examiner's office says that it handles 7,000 cases each year, and that there are no challenges with the vast majority of identifications.

The medical examiner's office has given its "deepest condolences" to all the families and says it works with investigating agencies to help find next-of-kin.

As for the lawsuit, the medical examiner's office says it has not yet been served.

The family says someone at the ME's office should have said: "We have don't have a "KELVIN" matching that description - but we do have a "Kevin."