Courtney v. St. Joseph Hospital

PRESIDING JUSTICE SULLIVAN

delivered the opinion of the court:

This is a permissive interlocutory appeal pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 308 (87 Ill. 2d R. 308). The question presented for our review is whether Illinois recognizes a cause of action “for emotional distress arising from the negligent mishandling of a corpse.”

Plaintiff’s action against defendant alleged that it was negligent in failing to preserve the body of her deceased husband in a condition suitable for an open casket wake and funeral following his death. The body decomposed when the refrigeration unit in the hospital morgue…