Missouri Court Refuses to Order Postmortem Biopsy on Living Asbestos Plaintiff

ST. LOUIS –– A Missouri trial court has denied a defendant’s efforts to require a living asbestos plaintiff to submit to a postmortem biopsy, opining that the decision to conduct an autopsy is left to the surviving family members of the deceased.

In an Aug. 22 order, the Missouri 22nd Judicial Circuit Court for the City of St. Louis found that entering an order enforcing the postmortem procedure would be “problematic” for several reasons, including that it would violate public policy.

Roy Duncan filed the underlying claims, arguing that his malignant mesothelioma was caused by exposure to asbestos. Defendant …