Wash. Federal Court Grants Emergency Motion to Preserve Evidence, Orders Autopsy of Decedent

SEATTLE –– A Washington federal court has granted an emergency motion for preservation of evidence, opining that information from an autopsy of the deceased plaintiff could quantify and identify asbestos fibers present in the body.

In the Oct. 24 order, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington ultimately found that the decedent’s family’s moral objection to the autopsy did not outweigh the defendants’ showing that an autopsy “is the most medically reasonable option, as it can reveal information that is both pertinent to the case an unobtainable through the currently available medical alternatives.”

Plaintiffs Leslie and Patrick …