OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The state Supreme Court has ruled that a man can sue the City of Bellingham after fire fighters used his dead brother’s body for training.
Bradley Ginn Sr. died in an ambulance in 2018 and fire fighters practiced intubation on his body at a fire station without notifying or getting permission from his family.
The city has paid settlements totaling $325,000 to Ginn’s wife and adult children, but it claimed his brother was not allowed to sue.
The justices disagreed in a 6-3 decision, saying legal action is allowed to compensate relatives who suffer from the mishandling of their loved one’s remains.
The court said it couldn’t determine which relatives have a legitimate claim to damages and that decision must be made on a case by case basis.