Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

This site recently reported on the case of Harold St. John, whose family was prevented from burying their loved one because of a legal request for an autopsy. The family is engaged in a lawsuit against several auto parts manufacturers, claiming St. John was exposed to asbestos while working with the products as an auto mechanic. St. John recently died of mesothelioma, a cancer that is caused by asbestos.

The ongoing story is being reported by the New Jersey Star-Ledger. Thursday the paper reported that Superior Court Judge Philip Paley has sided with the family, who cited religious and moral objections to an autopsy. Defense lawyers for the auto parts manufacturers requested the autopsy to obtain samples of the deceased’s lung tissue. The plaintiffs’ lawyers argued the St. John family already provided samples of Harold St. John’s lung tissue from that which was collected at his mesothelioma diagnosis.

St. John passed away Feb. 28, two days before the lawsuit was scheduled to begin. The funeral was held last week, but the funeral home was prevented by a court order from burying the body, and directed to instead return it to the coroner’s office pending the judge’s ruling regarding the autopsy.

According to the Star-Ledger report, the family is relieved by the judge’s decision and hopeful the defendants will not appeal further, allowing them to bury their loved one.

The St. John family filed suit against about a dozen auto parts manufacturers last summer.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 16th, 2009 at 10:49 am and is filed under Mesothelioma Links, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.