Matter of Petition of Sheffield Farms Co.

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Yaitoeebilt, C. J.

The question presented by this appeal is whether an employer, ten months after the burial of an employee who died in the course of his employment, may obtain the disinterment of that employee’s body and an autopsy to determine the cause of death for the purpose of defending a claim by the workman’s widow that she is entitled to be compensated for the incident. From the order of the Law Division of the Superior Court denying the application, the employer appealed to the Appellate Division and we certified the matter on our own motion.

Th…