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Washington Report
August - September 2007
Court: University not obliged to track donated bodies
by ICCFA General Counsel Robert M. Fells, Esq.
In the second decision in as many years on the issue of bodies donated to science, the California state appeals court ruled that the University of California's "willed body program" had no responsibility to keep track of the bodies donated to it nor to return the cremated remains to the family.
Unlike the liability in the private sector, the state university is specifically exempted from charges of mishandling a corpse.
The court explained the distinction by stating: [Private sector] funeral-related services are principally for the comfort of the living, having as their aim the consolation of the leading mourners. The expectations of the survivors, and 'the essence of the contract for such services is a reasonable expectation of dignity, tranquility and personal consolation.'
"In contrast, the mission of UCI's WBP [University of California's Willed Body Program] is to obtain cadavers for study and dissection by medical students. In recognition of this distinction, the Legislature specifically exempted public institutions, hospitals, and medical schools from the Funeral Directors and Embalmers Law."
This decision, Conroy v. Regents of the University of California, is consistent with an earlier decision by the court in the Bennett case decided in 2005.
These decisions suggest that individuals and families donating bodies to science should carefully review the written agreements with the institution in question prior to signing.
Under the agreement, families may be waiving their expectation of having the remains treated in a dignified manner and returned for interment or memorialization.
Copyright ICCFA 2007
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