Family win case against hospital trust after woman s body left to decompose A FAMILY has won a landmark case against a hospital trust that allowed a young mum’s body to decompose to the point that third-party involvement in her death was unable to be ruled out. In a judgement handed down today, Judge Andrew Saffman concluded Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust had breached the human rights of Emily Whelan’s family by failing to preserve her body and awarded them damages. Matthew Gold, solicitor for the Whelan family, said it was the first time a court had ruled a hospital has a legal obligation to treat a body with dignity and respect to ensure it does not badly decompose to prevent a breach of Article 8 of European Convention of Human Rights, the right to respect for private and family life.
Last modified on Fri 29 Jan 2021 16.06 EST
The family of a woman whom they suspect was killed has won a lawsuit against a health trust that allowed her body to decompose to the point that experts were unable to rule out third-party involvement in the death in a first-of-its kind ruling.
In a judgment handed down on Friday, Judge Andrew Saffman concluded that Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS trust had breached human rights laws by failing to preserve Emily Whelanâs body, and awarded the family damages.
Matthew Gold, the solicitor for the Whelan family, said it was the first time a court had ruled a hospital had a legal obligation to ensure a body did not badly decompose to prevent a breach of article 8 of the European convention on human rights, the right to respect for private and family life.
Family wins lawsuit against NHS trust over woman’s decomposed body Jamie Grierson Home affairs correspondent
The family of a woman who they suspect was killed has won a lawsuit against a health trust that allowed her body to decompose to the point that experts were unable to rule out third-party involvement in the death in a first-of-its kind ruling.
In a judgment handed down on Friday, Judge Andrew Saffman concluded that Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS trust had breached human rights laws by failing to preserve Whelan’s body, and awarded the family damages.
Matthew Gold, the solicitor for the Whelan family, said it was the first time a court had ruled a hospital has a legal obligation to ensure a body does not badly decompose to prevent a breach of article 8 of the European convention on human rights, the right to respect for private and family life.