Video of Dead COVID Patients 'Piled Up' Outside Hospital Raises Questions

Memorial Hospital of Gardena in Los Angeles has been accused of mishandling the deceased and leaving body bags outside of its freezing unit for hours. A witness, who wished to remain anonymous, spoke to CBS Los Angeles and said she felt compelled to say something after an incident on Monday.

The witness claimed the hospital left bodies outside the freezer and in the rain for hours and that the body bags were covered in blood. CBS Los Angeles' Sky9 helicopter also captured video footage of medical staff and security loading bodies into a mobile freezer.

The owner of private autopsy company 1-800 autopsy, Vidal Herrera, agreed with the witness and said people from his company had seen "piled up bloody body bags."

The hospital released a statement to explain the situation and their actions. It read: "Because of the overcrowding situation, hospital administrators took action yesterday to organize the outdoor cooling unit in a more orderly fashion.

"Hospital protocol calls upon security guards to assist in the process when mortuaries come to pick up bodies, primarily helping to lift and move the bodies.

"While the outside cooling unit was being better organized, the hospital engaged Environmental Services staff to clean the unit. That is why some of the bodies were removed from the unit for a brief period."

The hospital said that their morgue is small and can only hold 6 bodies. They added this has proven to be inadequate space as they deal with an influx of COVID-19 deaths and non-COVID-19 related deaths.

The hospital denies the suggestion that the bodies were not properly cared for and said they were kept at the correct temperature.

The witness has disagreed with this claim based on the fluid she saw on the body bags and at the scene. She told CBS Los Angeles: "Impossible, those bodies were defrosted, they were decomposing, you can see blood."

The witness also spoke to Fox 11 News and detailed what she believes was happening.

She said: "There was blood everywhere, it is just not right. They wanted security to actually move the bodies out, for housekeeping to come and clean it out and then for security to take the bodies out of the old bags and put them in new bags and put them back in the freezer."

Speaking with Fox 11 News, Herrera said his company was picking up a body at the hospital and saw the "piled up bloody body bags and didn't know what to do."

While being shown images of the body bags he said the fluid seen was blood and it would not be there if they were kept at the right temperature and if the body bags were secure.

Regarding the body bags having temperature issues based on the pictures, he continued: "I see an indication of temperature issues because they are slightly decomposed. Those bodies are in bad condition, they have been like that for a while."

Newsweek has contacted the Memorial Hospital of Gardena for comment.