Beller v. City of New York

The law is well settled that a cause of action will lie for an unauthorized autopsy. (Grawunder v. Beth Israel Hospital Assn., 242 App. Div. 56, affd. 266 N. Y. 605; Darcy v. Presbyterian Hospital, 202 N. Y. 259.) In the absence of a testamentary disposition, the right to the possession of the. body of one who has died belongs to the surviving husband or wife or next of kin for the purpose of preservation and burial. Anyone infringing upon such right by mutilating the remains without the consent of the person or persons entitled to the posséssion thereof may be required to pay damages for the…