Gordon G. Strachan and Marilyn Strachan, His Wife, Plaintiffs-Appellants v. John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital and…

Summary

The Supreme Court of New Jersey held that a hospital owes a duty to release a deceased patient's body to the next of kin and breached that duty, but it rejected any duty to have written procedures for removing life‑support equipment. The Court also rejected the application of the Portee factors to bar emotional‑distress damages, affirming liability for the mishandling of the corpse while remanding the case for a retrial on damages only. Justice O'Hern concurred in part and dissented in part, arguing that the improper jury instruction warranted a full retrial.