Perry v. Saint Francis Hospital And Medical Center, Inc.

886 F. Supp. 1551 (1995)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Kenneth suffered a heart attack at his home and was transported by ambulance to D. He was pronounced dead shortly after arriving. Nancy McDonald, a night shift staff nurse in the emergency room discussed tissue donation with Kenneth’s widow, Mary. Saying they were opposed to disfiguring Kenneth's body because that is not what Kenneth would have wanted, Ps responded, 'No' to Nurse McDonald's question about donations. Nurse McDonald then explained the procedure for donating the corneas in which they were just 'peeled off' without removing the eyes from the dead body. One of Kenneth's sons adamantly said that his father's body was not going to be taken apart. Nurse McDonald then began discussing a bone marrow donation and explained a procedure involving a needle and syringe without any disfigurement. She returned with a consent form for tissue donation. Ps informed her of their consent to donate only the corneas and the bone marrow. The consent form had been completed with lines drawn through the 'yes' column opposite all the separately listed body parts for donation. Mary modified the consent form by separately checking the 'no' boxes opposite each named body part except for the boxes opposite 'eyes' and 'bone' in which she wrote 'yes' in the 'yes' boxes. The consent form had been completed with lines drawn through the 'yes' column opposite all the separately listed body parts for donation. Mary modified the consent form by separately checking the 'no' boxes opposite each named body part except for the boxes opposite 'eyes' and 'bone' in which she wrote 'yes' in the 'yes' boxes. All the children present also executed the consent form. Ps allege they gave their consent to remove the corneas from Kenneth's eyes and to remove the bone marrow from Kenneth's bones. Ds removed not just the corneas, but the entire eyes, and not just the bone marrow, but the large major bones from the upper arm, hip, and leg regions. Ps sued Ds for breach of contract and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The Hospital (D) moved for summary judgment.