Coroner Has No Duty to Obtain Family's Consent Before Retaining Organ for Study after Autopsy

In Benson v. Superior Court, filed May 25, 2010 and ordered published June 22, 2010, the 1st DCA held that, under California law, neither the coroner nor a doctor employed by the coroner owes a duty to a decedent's next of kin to obtain the family's consent before retaining an organ (in this case, a heart) from the decedent's body after autopsy.  The plaintiff defeated summary judgment in the trial court by presenting an expert's declaration that retaining the entire heart was not necessary for clinical diagnostic purposes.  The appellate court ruled that summary judgment should have been granted, because the coroner may retain an organ for study or to determine the cause of death, without seeking the next of kin's consent.