Supervisor Adrienne Tissier at:
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400 County Center
Redwood City, CA 94063
(650) 363-4572 |
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Staff:
| Lorraine Simmon |
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| George Mozingo |
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| Greg Burge |
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| President . |
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2) E-mail the Vice President of the
San Mateo County Board
of Supervisors at:
DHorsley@smcgov.org. |
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Hall of Justice
400 County Center
Redwood City, CA 94063 |
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Office: | (650) 363-4569 |
Fax: | (650) 363-1856 |
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3) E-mail -Supervisor Dave Pine at:
dpine@smcgov.org |
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Office: |
| Hall of Justice |
| 400 County Center |
| Redwood City, CA 94063 |
| (650) 363-4571 |
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5) Supervisor Rose Jacobs Gibson |
| Email at:
RoseJG@smcgov.org
Phone: 650.363.4570
Fax: 650.366.6720 |
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Staff |
Maya Perkins, |
| Email at:
mperkins@smcgov.org
Phone: 650.599.1009 |
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Rebecca Irwin, |
| Email at:
rirwin@smcgov.org
Phone: 650.363.4801 |
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Charisse Lebron-Cannon, |
| Email at:
clebron-cannon@smcgov.org
Phone: 650.599.1021 |
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Mailing Address: |
Supervisor Rose Jacobs Gibson
Hall of Justice and Records
400 County Center
Redwood City , CA 94063 |
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6A) E-Mail Kristine Gamble-
Senior Deputy Coroner -
E-Mail at:
kgamble@co.sanmateo.ca.us
6B) E-Mail - ROGER Fielding -
Deputy Coroner of San Mateo County
E-mail at rfielding@co.sanmateo.ca.us
6C) E-Mail the San Mateo Coroner-
Robert J. Foucrault at:
rfoucrault@co.sanmateo.ca.us
6D) Call Coroner Foucraults direct
telephone number (650) 312-5562.
6E) Write, call and/or fax the
SMC Coroners Office at:
San Mateo County
Coroner's Office
50 Tower Road
San Mateo, CA 94402
Main Tel: (650) 312-5562
Fax: (650) 571-6258
3) Contact Nanette Asimov who is
a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer.
E-mail at: nasimov@sfchronicle.com
4)Contact Michelle Durand at the
San Mateo County Daily Journal
Email at: michelle@smdailyjournal.com
or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 102.
5) Contact Joshua Melvin a reporter
for the San Mateo Times, Bay Area News
and also reports for all the various local
San Mateo area media.
E-mail at:
jmelvin@bayareanewsgroup.com
or contact him at 650-348-4335.
6) Contact your local media with the
press release below and any of the
information in this post and ask them
to publish it. If you have an online Blog
or know of someone
who has one, or access to the media,
feel free to distribute all of the
information in this post. |
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Thank you.
SUIT OVER MISMANAGED BODY PARTS REFILED
March 07, 2012, 05:00 AM
By Michelle Durand Daily Journal Staff
The San Mateo County coroner violated his duty
and the law by giving pieces of a deceased man’s brain
to a private pathologist for evaluation in a wrongful death
suit without notifying his devoutly Jewish parents
they were not burying his entire body,
according to a civil suit filed on their behalf.
The amended suit by Jerald and Sandra Wolkoff
filed March 1 is a response to a judge tentatively ruling
last month that Coroner Robert Foucrault did not have
a mandatory duty to notify them.
Judge Raymond V. Swope upheld the county’s request
to dismiss the suit but gave the Wolkoff's
the chance to file a new complaint.
The new suit still argues Foucrault had a duty
but also makes new allegations about the facts
and alleged violations, including his alleged interference
with the Wolkoff's right to dispose of their son’s remains
under California law.
Although a judge can again side with the county or ask
for more information, attorney J. Gary Gwilliam
said the Wolkoff's hope they can now have a trial
and “bring their suffering to resolution.”
Steven Wolkoff died June 21, 2008 in a vehicle crash
on Highway 1 that also killed another 21-year-old man.
During the autopsy, pieces of his neck and brain stem
were retained as part of standard procedure.
The following June, the Wolkoffs sued several parties
in their son’s death including the county
and American Medical Response whose workers
they said failed to revive him.
In preparing its defense, AMR subpoenaed
the coroner records and tissue slides.
The family learned during a May 2010 deposition that
their son’s brain was not buried with his body.
“I was dumbfounded, frankly,” said attorney
Steven Brewer who was at the deposition.
Brewer said the subpoena sought for AMR’s
private pathologist to look at records and examine
any tissue blocks but not remove them or create new slides.
Gwilliam said typical protocol calls for all parties
to sign off on the request to ensure everybody
has accurate notice.
Had the attorneys known of the plan, they could have
disputed the subpoena, Gwilliam said.
“That’s what made the family so angry,” he said.
The subpoena did not give the coroner the right
to release the tissue to create new evidence
without the notification or consent of the Wolkoffs,
the suit argues.
The Wolkoffs’ faith also considers dissection for
reasons not urgent or medical “a matter of shame
and gross dishonor,” the suit states.
The couple, who live in New York, is seeking
general damages but also for travel, cemetery grave
opening, re-internment and religious services.
Aside from any legal mandate, the suit contends
Foucrault violated the policies of his own office
which were established after another mother sued over
the retention of her deceased son’s heart.
That suit by Selina Picon sparked proposed
state legislation that failed to become law
but the courts ruled in the county’s favor.
Foucrault has said the policy concerns organs
not tissue slides and that disclosure of the guidelines
are widely shared in the office and on its website.
The suit also argues Foucrault breached his duty
as an independent coroner when he released
the tissue because the wrongful death suit
also named San Mateo County. Rather than treating the
tissue with dignity, the county’s attorneys were allowed
to desecrate them and Foucrault’s conduct violates the
“common law duty to refrain from disturbing the body",
the suit contends.
Michelle Durand can be reached by email:
michelle@smdailyjournal.com
or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 102. |
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Suit over mismanaged body parts refiled |
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Suit over mismanaged body parts refiled |
Suit over mismanaged body parts refiled March 07, 2012, 05:00 AM By Michelle Durand Daily Journal Staff |
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