Family Sues for $15M After Body Used for Medical Practice

The family of a man used for medical practice by 11 fire department employees as his body lay on the station floor is suing the city of Bellingham, Wash., for more than $15 million. The employees have admitted practicing intubation, the insertion and removal of breathing tubes, on the body of Bradley Ginn, the Bellingham Herald reports. The procedure was carried out without permission from Ginn's family as the fire station employees waited for the man's body to be transported to a funeral home. The workers who practiced on Ginn's body included two office workers as well as paramedics, the AP reports. A total of 12 employees were disciplined over the incident and a division chief resigned.

An attorney later determined that "tube checks" on recently deceased patients were considered an acceptable way for paramedics to gain certification, though the rules were changed last month to ban performing procedures on deceased patients without the consent of next of kin, the Herald reports. Ginn's wife, Jai Ginn, has filed a $15 million suit, saying she was distressed by the "intentional and negligent care of a body." Children Aurieona Ginn and Bradley Ginn Jr. are suing for $350,000 and $200,000 respectively. Ginn Jr.'s lawyer says the "reprehensible" treatment of the body occurred when Ginn's family members were trying to find him. (These Canadian paramedics were charged over their treatment of a Good Samaritan.)