A Washington state couple has claimed they were forced to drive their infant son's body home after the boy died in a hospital that they are now suing for allegedly causing extreme emotional distress.

Aleksandr and Nataliya Yeremeyev's son, Michael, was born in Seattle in early 2024 with Down syndrome and other complications that forced him to be hospitalized for the first six months of his life. 

But a couple of months after he was discharged, when Michael was eight months old, the Yeremeyevs took the boy on a family trip to Oregon for a church retreat, according to a recently filed civil complaint that was obtained by KATU. 

While out of state hours away from home, the infant's breathing became rapid late at night, and his parents rushed him to a Salem Health hospital just after midnight on September 22, 2024, the lawsuit said.   

Hospital staff attempted lifesaving measures, but the boy was pronounced dead at 2.44am. 

The lawsuit alleges that after Michael's death, his parents were told to stay away from his body while waiting for a medical examiner that never came. 

They allegedly repeatedly asked about arrangements to transport their son back to Seattle, but staff said they did not have the proper paperwork and that it would be too expensive to take the boy to a funeral home, the lawsuit claims. 

Instead, the parents were allegedly advised to drive hours back home in their own vehicle with their infant's lifeless body in the backseat. 

The lawsuit alleges that staff did not offer to store Michael's body in the morgue and that the parents were only given a note on a prescription pad by a doctor which stated their son had died at the hospital. 

The parents further claim that they were not afforded a realistic opportunity to process their son's death, arrange for dignified transport of his remains or consult family.

When they asked staff about safely transporting Michael's corpse, the Yeremeyevs were initially told to put him in his car seat, the lawsuit claimed. 

After the boy's mother said she was worried his body would become stiff, the couple was then advised to lay him flat in the backseat with a blanket over his body, according to the lawsuit. 

Michael's mom was ultimately forced to carry his body out of the hospital and place him in their family car before the infant's dad made the long, four-hour drive back to Seattle, the lawsuit alleges. 

On the way home, the parents had to call several funeral homes before finding one that would accept their son's remains, the lawsuit said. 

After they arrived, the father had to clean bodily fluids that had seeped into the backseat of the family's vehicle, according to the lawsuit. 

The Yeremeyevs named Salem Health, Salem Health Hospitals & Clinics, Salem Emergency Physicians Service and Dr Stefani Sorensen as defendants in their lawsuit. 

The civil complaint alleges that the defendants failed to follow policies on documentation, family support and handling of Michael's body. 

The Yeremeyevs are seeking $10 million in non-economic damages as compensation for extreme emotional distress and psychological injuries that were allegedly caused by the defendants' actions. 

The Daily Mail has reached out to Salem Health for comment.

Nataliya Yeremeyev publicly mourned her son on social media on the first anniversary of his death. 

'We miss you and love you very much! Looking forward to eternity, where we will meet you again and hug you tight! You will be always in our hearts,' she wrote in a Facebook post. 

According to social media posts, the family appears to have four surviving children, including twins they welcomed in August 2025. Michael appears to have been their third child.