The family of Harold St. John have reason to be happy. The body of Harold St. John may finally be laid to rest, after being delayed over a fight to autopsy the body. The judge has ruled against the autopsy proposed by the corporations St. John was suing for damages over the asbestos-related cancer that St. John eventually died from.

The judge has ruled that twp of the corporations cannot have an autopsy performed on St. John. Samples of St. John’s lung tissue were already given to the defendants for their review in December.

Said the judge: “There has been little consideration here of the plaintiff’s survivors right to privacy and I think it should be considered”, and went on to say that the sanctity of the funeral process was something that should not be taken lightly.

St. John had been preparing to go to trial to seek damages; however he died two days before the lawsuit was meant to go to trial.

The corporations being sued attempted to have an autopsy performed the day before St. John’s funeral, and eventually the burial was interrupted so that court proceedings could take place to examine the validity of the autopsy request.

His family has been distraught, Said St. John’s daughter Debbie, “It is cruel, what they did,” adding, “We want to lay our dad to rest.”

St. John was diagnosed with mesothelioma in May 2008. He and his wife Diana field suit against over a dozen companies last year. St. John believed he had been exposed to asbestos while working in a family-owned auto repair shop in the 1950s and 1960s.

St. John’s attorney was pleased with the ruling, and hopes that the companies will not try to appeal.

Source:

New Jersey News

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