Freshmen move-in day
Was house fire racial revenge?
Bodies ... The Exhibition
Justices hear case about rights to organs after autopsy
The dispute stems from a 2001 drowning when the family realized they couldn't claim the man's brain.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
COLUMBUS — It might be the most macabre question facing the Ohio Supreme Court this year: Does the next-of-kin have a right to organs removed by county coroners after autopsies are completed?
Lawyers argued the question before the court Wednesday and walked justices through delicate details of an autopsy.
Extras
When 30-year-old Christopher Albrecht drowned in December 2001, his body was autopsied and his brain was removed for examination. Unbeknownst to his grieving parents, it was never put back.
Years later, when the Albrechts found out, they were shocked, said defense attorney Patrick Perotti, who delivered the news to them. Perotti looked through stacks of Hamilton County autopsy reports, searching for cases where brains had been removed and families probably weren't notified.
The Albrechts filed a federal class action lawsuit against coroners and medical examiners in 87 of Ohio's 88 counties for cases between 1991 and 2006, when the law changed.
They argue that they have a protected right under Ohio law to recover their loved ones' organs and tissues after autopsies are concluded. Autopsies are mandated when deaths are sudden, violent or suspicious and in some other circumstances.
Coroners point to state laws and regulations that require them to retain organs and tissue samples for further testing in some cases and dispose of the material as "medical waste."
In about 5 percent of autopsies, brains are removed and fixed in a solution of salt and formaldehyde for up to 14 days. It causes a brain to harden so it's easier to dissect.
The U.S. District Court referred the case to the Ohio Supreme Court for a ruling on whether state law says the next of kin have a protected right.
The case has drawn statewide and national attention because of its religious and ethical implications, as well as its potential impact on criminal investigations.
Attorney Mark Landes, who represents the coroners, said it would be impossible to say the next of kin has a right to a brain without extending that right to every drop of blood spilled in an autopsy.
Countered defense attorney John Metz: "I hope there's never a government that tells me I don't have an interest in my daughter's dead body."
Outside the courtroom, Landes suggested the lawsuit is about money. In a similar case, Hamilton County agreed to pay next-of-kin $6,000 for each brain it had thrown away as medical waste between 1991 and 2006. Landes estimates that a similar settlement on a statewide basis would cost $90 million.
Contact this reporter at (614) 224-1624 or lbischoff@DaytonDailyNews.com.
