James Ross was diagnosed with asbestos-related cancer about two years ago and has accepted the fact that he has a terminal illness. He has filed suit against several manufacturers of asbestos products and, in doing so, he discovered that if he should die in the middle of the litigation, his body must be autopsied. This he cannot accept so he filed suit to protect his wife from having to go through the ordeal of an autopsy on top of dealing with his death.
Ross says that he has been diagnosed by the doctor and an autopsy is unnecessary. “I have said no, for philosophical reasons,” Ross said. “They’re pestering widows. They don’t need that.”
Last week a carefully worded order was issued by King County Superior Court Judge Paris Kallas. The order waives the autopsy requirement for Ross but does not overturn the county’s autopsy policy for mesothelioma victims. The order simply means that, in Ross’s case, he will not be automatically subjected to an autopsy if he dies in the middle of litigation. It also leaves the door open for defense attorneys to request an autopsy be ordered by a judge.
The autopsy requirement was adopted in 1984, when King County was overwhelmed with claims stemming from cancer-causing building materials, said Seattle attorney Matthew Bergman, who is representing Ross.
Twenty years ago, it was impossible to detect mesothelioma without an autopsy, but medical technology has evolved and now mesothelioma can be diagnosed before a person dies, Bergman said.
Bergman also pushed to have the county’s mesothelioma policy overturned but Judge Kallas denied that motion. Nevertheless, Bergman says the groundwork has been laid for other challenges to this autopsy requirement.
