A hospital in New Jersey is being sued by a woman from Connecticut who claims that her stillborn son’s remains were lost and that an autopsy was conducted without her permission, going against her religious beliefs and explicit wishes.
Lauren Kodson, 34, reported that she was admitted to Hackensack University Medical Center on September 28, 2022, for labor induction. Kodson shared that she and her medical team knew the child, a boy, would be stillborn because of a diagnosed congenital disorder.
Kodson stated that because of the strong Jewish beliefs shared by her and her husband, she chose not to have an autopsy performed on the child and communicated this decision to the hospital.
A nurse provided Kodson with a preprinted “Consent/Refusal for Autopsy” form, which Kodson declined. The nurse informed her that the infant’s remains would be disposed of within four weeks of the delivery.
Kodson stated that she agreed to a consent form allowing the hospital to conduct a “examination” of the infant’s remains, which was “a process completely separate and distinct from an autopsy.”
“Kodson trusted and had reason to believe that her infant son’s remains would be treated with dignity and in accordance with her wishes as set forth above,” said the complaint.
Nonetheless, Kodson revealed that the next July, she “discovered, by chance,” that an autopsy had indeed been conducted on her son without her permission.
An investigation found that the child’s remains were “lost in storage” by the hospital until February 2023, according to the filing. An autopsy was conducted after they were found.
Kodson reported that hospital staff informed her that her son’s remains were not handled as anticipated within the four-week timeframe, due to their “small size [] causing it to be misplaced in a morgue refrigeration unit which stores cadavers …”
The complaint claims professional negligence, along with both negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Kodson is pursuing damages to address significant emotional distress.