This is subscription-only, so I'm posting the whole article.
(PS- I have less than zero sympathy for drunken drivers but that doesn't mean one should give up a limb for it)
http://www.abqjournal.com/news/metro/41 ... -28-05.htm
Monday, November 28, 2005
Family Sues Over Victim's Lost Leg
By T.J. Wilham
Journal Staff Writer
Antonio Torres' family wants to know what happened to his leg.
Two years after his death, the Albuquerque man's family is still waiting for answers and has filed a lawsuit, which is pending in federal court.
Torres, 40, was killed in June 2003 when he lost control of his new Harley-Davidson motorcycle and hit a road sign on an Interstate 25 frontage road just north of Comanche. During the crash, his leg was severed just below his knee.
Torres' body, including the leg, was delivered to the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator, but the severed limb never made it to the casket in which Torres was buried.
The lawsuit names OMI, French Mortuary and New Mexico Donor Services as defendants. The family is seeking compensatory damages, an apology and an acknowledgment from someone that they lost the leg.
"We may never know exactly what happened to Mr. Torres' leg," said attorney Cynthia A. Braun, who is representing the Torres family. "Everyone is pointing the finger at everyone else."
Officials from OMI were unavailable for comment. Attorneys representing New Mexico Donor Services declined to comment on the lawsuit.
According to Braun and the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque, OMI officials informed the family that the leg was missing shortly before the funeral.
The family proceeded with the service and buried Torres without the leg.
Through the course of the lawsuit, Braun said, she has learned that the leg became missing around the time Torres' organs were harvested for donation. He was an organ donor.
She said the body and the leg were transported from OMI to the morgue for organ harvesting and then back to OMI. The agency then gave the body to Aspen Funeral Alternatives, which is now owned by French Mortuary.
When the body was given to the funeral home, the leg was not with it, Braun said.
Mortuary officials said they are puzzled why they are included in the suit. They claim they had nothing to do with the leg being misplaced.
Tom Antram, general manager of French Mortuary, said employees notified Torres' wife that the leg was missing when they received the body.
"We work very closely with the OMI and never really had major issues like this before," Antram said. "This was a rare circumstance, and that is why we brought it to (the family's) attention. The truth is always the best way to go. We want to make sure everyone is aware of anything out of the ordinary, and this was out of the ordinary for us.
"To have an incomplete (body) is tough for (the family), and we sympathize with what (they are) going through."
Braun said "their best guess" is that the leg was placed in a biohazard bag with Torres' clothing and was incinerated.
The judge has asked all parties to go through a mediation to see if the lawsuit can be settled out of court, Braun said.
"We are hoping to resolve this short of a jury trial, but that depends entirely on the defendants," Braun said. "I am sure (Mrs. Torres) would like to put it behind her, but she thinks she owes it to her husband's memory to speak up and not let this get swept under the rug."
If the Torres family reaches a settlement, it won't be the first time they have been awarded damages for Torres' death.
This year, the family received an undisclosed amount after they reached a settlement with Joker's Pub, 2509 San Mateo NE.
In a lawsuit filed in District Court, the family claimed that pub employees continued to serve Torres alcohol despite Torres being "noticeably" intoxicated. The lawsuit also claimed that pub employees did not make any attempt to stop Torres from leaving the bar on his motorcycle.
When Torres died, his blood-alcohol content exceeded the legal limit to drive.
(PS- I have less than zero sympathy for drunken drivers but that doesn't mean one should give up a limb for it)
http://www.abqjournal.com/news/metro/41 ... -28-05.htm
Monday, November 28, 2005
Family Sues Over Victim's Lost Leg
By T.J. Wilham
Journal Staff Writer
Antonio Torres' family wants to know what happened to his leg.
Two years after his death, the Albuquerque man's family is still waiting for answers and has filed a lawsuit, which is pending in federal court.
Torres, 40, was killed in June 2003 when he lost control of his new Harley-Davidson motorcycle and hit a road sign on an Interstate 25 frontage road just north of Comanche. During the crash, his leg was severed just below his knee.
Torres' body, including the leg, was delivered to the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator, but the severed limb never made it to the casket in which Torres was buried.
The lawsuit names OMI, French Mortuary and New Mexico Donor Services as defendants. The family is seeking compensatory damages, an apology and an acknowledgment from someone that they lost the leg.
"We may never know exactly what happened to Mr. Torres' leg," said attorney Cynthia A. Braun, who is representing the Torres family. "Everyone is pointing the finger at everyone else."
Officials from OMI were unavailable for comment. Attorneys representing New Mexico Donor Services declined to comment on the lawsuit.
According to Braun and the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque, OMI officials informed the family that the leg was missing shortly before the funeral.
The family proceeded with the service and buried Torres without the leg.
Through the course of the lawsuit, Braun said, she has learned that the leg became missing around the time Torres' organs were harvested for donation. He was an organ donor.
She said the body and the leg were transported from OMI to the morgue for organ harvesting and then back to OMI. The agency then gave the body to Aspen Funeral Alternatives, which is now owned by French Mortuary.
When the body was given to the funeral home, the leg was not with it, Braun said.
Mortuary officials said they are puzzled why they are included in the suit. They claim they had nothing to do with the leg being misplaced.
Tom Antram, general manager of French Mortuary, said employees notified Torres' wife that the leg was missing when they received the body.
"We work very closely with the OMI and never really had major issues like this before," Antram said. "This was a rare circumstance, and that is why we brought it to (the family's) attention. The truth is always the best way to go. We want to make sure everyone is aware of anything out of the ordinary, and this was out of the ordinary for us.
"To have an incomplete (body) is tough for (the family), and we sympathize with what (they are) going through."
Braun said "their best guess" is that the leg was placed in a biohazard bag with Torres' clothing and was incinerated.
The judge has asked all parties to go through a mediation to see if the lawsuit can be settled out of court, Braun said.
"We are hoping to resolve this short of a jury trial, but that depends entirely on the defendants," Braun said. "I am sure (Mrs. Torres) would like to put it behind her, but she thinks she owes it to her husband's memory to speak up and not let this get swept under the rug."
If the Torres family reaches a settlement, it won't be the first time they have been awarded damages for Torres' death.
This year, the family received an undisclosed amount after they reached a settlement with Joker's Pub, 2509 San Mateo NE.
In a lawsuit filed in District Court, the family claimed that pub employees continued to serve Torres alcohol despite Torres being "noticeably" intoxicated. The lawsuit also claimed that pub employees did not make any attempt to stop Torres from leaving the bar on his motorcycle.
When Torres died, his blood-alcohol content exceeded the legal limit to drive.