An alleged failure of the New Orleans Coroner’s Office to fingerprint and identify a missing man’s body – and the way the body was allowed to decompose and turn into “soup” – has prompted the man’s father to file a lawsuit in civil district court.
The lawsuit was filed against corner Dwight McKenna in Orleans Parish in early December. In the complaint, plaintiff Sidney Smith argues that the Coroner’s Office engaged in gross negligence after Smith’s adult son, Justin Smith, 42, was reported as a missing person to the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) in June.
That month, Justin Smith collapsed on Decatur Street in the city and was eventually pronounced dead. He lacked a wallet or any identification, according to the lawsuit. Authorities labeled the body “Parkway Unknown.”
“As Sidney would later learn, Justin was then transported to the Coroner's Office and placed in the morgue,” the complaint states. “No fingerprints were taken, and the Coroner’s Office did not even attempt to identify Justin. Justin Smith’s fingerprints were already on file with the NOPD, so identification would have been simple.”
Justin Smith had a history of mental health issues, which led to addiction problems, according to the lawsuit. During a June court hearing, he said he planned on starting a rehab program in Baton Rouge, but Justin Smith later left his father’s home after an argument.
The plaintiff’s attorney, Richard Trahant, told the Louisiana Record in an email that he has been contacted by five families who have had major issues with the Coroner’s Office about the proper identification of loved ones’ remains. All five persons were easily identifiable, according to Trahant, who represents three of the families.
“Irrespective of religious beliefs, the way that you handle the dead is sacrosanct to everybody,” he said. “People spend years trying to track down and bring home the bodies of missing loved ones, and these people are handling it like it’s a used burrito wrapper.”
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System reports that Louisiana now has 541 open missing persons cases, 149 open cases involving unidentified persons and 15 open unclaimed persons cases.
In July, photos confirmed that one of two unidentified male bodies at the New Orleans morgue was that of Justin Smith, according to the lawsuit, which also alleges that Acadian Ambulance records showed that Smith had died of cardiac arrest.
A Coroner’s Office official told Sydney Smith that no attempt to identify the body was made when it arrived because the police department's fingerprinting machine was not operating at the time, the complaint says.
“In the weeks that followed, Sidney learned that not only did the coroner make no attempt to identify Justin’s body, but also Justin’s body was not even refrigerated once it was received at the morgue,” the lawsuit states. “The Coroner’s Office inhumanely allowed Justin’s body to completely decompose and literally turn into ‘soup.’”
Sydney Smith’s lawsuit seeks damages for loss of companionship of his son, emotional distress and mental anguish, as well as costs for legal proceedings, expert witness fees and legal interest. It alleges multiple official failures, including a failure to adequately train staff and reckless negligence in the way Justin Smith’s body was handled.
“With something so sacred as preserving and caring for the dead, the Coroner’s Office simply treated Justin’s body like a piece of trash,” the lawsuit says.
Coroner McKenna has declined to answer specific questions about allegations in the lawsuit, according to media reports.