Jury Award For Denying Religious Burial To Stillborn Fetus Upheld

Today's New York Daily News reports that a Brooklyn judge has upheld a $2 million jury award against Brooklyn Hospital Center in a case brought by a Nigerian couple whose 21-1/2-week stillborn infant's remains were disposed of by the hospital's pathology department instead of being turned over to the couple for a religious burial. The father is chief of the Ibo tribe in his homeland. The couple suffered severe emotional distress because they believe a soul wanders forever if a loved one is not interred in a tribal burial ground. The full opinion in Emeagwali v. Brooklyn Hospital Center (Sup. Ct. Kings County, Feb. 22, 2006) is available online.