STEVEN NATHANIEL WOLKOFF
September 23,1977 – June 21, 2008
If there ever was any doubt as to justice NOT being served for victims and their families, just read today's post about my son Steven Nathaniel Wolkoff.
A judge has issued a ruling dismissing the Civil Case filed by us regarding the Desecration of the body of my son, stating the the Wolkoffs did
"not identify any statute that requires the coroner to seek consent
before taking a body part."
As I have said before in my post WHO OWNS YOUR BODY WHEN YOU DIE, there have been a countless epidemic of horrifying legal decisions all across the U.S that the Coroner owns your body, not you, not your family, not your loved ones.
It appears that the Coroner can do just about anything to your dead body because the laws in every State are deliberately written ambiguously, so weak as to give god like powers to Coroners who then get away with committing a nationwide epidemic of unspeakable, inhuman, horrifying acts of desecration, disrespect, and defiling the dead.
In Steven's Case, without any notice, consent or permission from us as his parents, the San Mateo County Coroner, two years after he closed the Case, suddenly permitted the removal of Steven's remains from his custody to the possession of a private pathologist hired by the defendants American Medical Response Ambulance Company, and the County of San Mateo, California (The Coroner's employer).
This private pathologist, without notice and without our permission, removed my sons remains to her private facility and proceeded to dissect Steven's brain into over 21 new tissue slices, for the SOLE PURPOSE of trying to create new evidence of the cause of death for purposes of using it as countering our litigation.
In effect she performed a non coroner autopsy on my son, in 2010, more than 2 years after the Coroner had performed his own Autopsy, closed his case, confirming beyond a doubt that Steven died after an auto collision in 2008, because of the negligence of two para-medics.
These para-medics had performed an unnecessary procedure whereby they missed Steven's airway in their placement of an intubation needle, instead mistakenly placing it into his chest cavity, pumping highly pressurized oxygen into his chest, until they horrifically, literally blew his chest apart, crushing his organs.
The Defendants violated Steven's and our Legal rights:
Our rights under the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution were violated by the defendants, in denying Steven, and us as citizens, the guarantee not to "deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws".
California Government Code 27491.45 requiring consent of the next of kin before releasing tissues to third parties for non coroner purposes,
California Government Code 27460-27473 et seq. requiring the Coroner to insure that remains are to be interred decently,
California Health and Safety Code Sec.7100 et seq. and the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act codified at Health and Safety Code Sec. 7150 et seq. which defines who has the right to custody and disposition of remains.
Unfortunately, the Judge disagreed with the above as being violations and his is the only decision that legally matters, regardless of the facts I have stated above.
The decision is not much of a surprise, based on the clueless disconnect of the Courts, Politicians, Government Agencies, Lobbying groups, that sit in judgement of supposedly dispensing fair, equitable justice to the rest of us average law abiding citizens.
This private pathologist, without notice and without our permission, removed my sons remains to her private facility and proceeded to dissect Steven's brain into over 21 new tissue slices, for the SOLE PURPOSE of trying to create new evidence of the cause of death for purposes of using it as countering our litigation.
In effect she performed a non coroner autopsy on my son, in 2010, more than 2 years after the Coroner had performed his own Autopsy, closed his case, confirming beyond a doubt that Steven died after an auto collision in 2008, because of the negligence of two para-medics.
These para-medics had performed an unnecessary procedure whereby they missed Steven's airway in their placement of an intubation needle, instead mistakenly placing it into his chest cavity, pumping highly pressurized oxygen into his chest, until they horrifically, literally blew his chest apart, crushing his organs.
The Statutes that exist allow the Coroner in cases where the cause of death needs to be determined, to perform an autopsy and examine the remains for the SOLE purpose of determining the exact cause of death.
Clearly the Coroner determined the exact cause of my son's death in 2008 after examining the findings of his Offices Autopsy and examination conducted by their own highly respected Pathologist who had at that time done over 20,000 autopsies in his career.
There were no doubts, questions, or requests for additional consultation needed about the reason Steven died that were ever raised by the Coroner in his final, official Autopsy report and so the above desecration was done specifically for litigation purposes by the defendants.
The Defendants violated Steven's and our Legal rights:
Our rights under the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution were violated by the defendants, in denying Steven, and us as citizens, the guarantee not to "deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws".
California Government Code 27491.45 requiring consent of the next of kin before releasing tissues to third parties for non coroner purposes,
California Government Code 27460-27473 et seq. requiring the Coroner to insure that remains are to be interred decently,
California Health and Safety Code Sec.7100 et seq. and the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act codified at Health and Safety Code Sec. 7150 et seq. which defines who has the right to custody and disposition of remains.
Unfortunately, the Judge disagreed with the above as being violations and his is the only decision that legally matters, regardless of the facts I have stated above.
The decision is not much of a surprise, based on the clueless disconnect of the Courts, Politicians, Government Agencies, Lobbying groups, that sit in judgement of supposedly dispensing fair, equitable justice to the rest of us average law abiding citizens.
There is the ARROGANCE OF THE LAW, an egotistical superiority that stinks up our Country by creating a separate immunity for those in power who commit illegal acts, a semantically constipated blind legion of those whose personal interpretations have replaced the common sense meanings of laws and block the right to have a trial by ones peers.
Those in government, law enforcement, law, that have the sworn duty to protect our human rights, to supposedly provide justice for innocent victims, instead they abuse us. They do this, because they can, it is all about their sense of privilege that fuels an endless insatiable need to wield their power against the rest of us.
This is why the legal system is considered a broken dysfunctional circus of elite clowns by most Americans and there is no faith that the Law will protect us in any way that is meaningful.
San Mateo County California, is it true as your local newspaper states glibly that "San Mateo County applauded the decision".
You "applauded" the desecration of a dead human body, an American citizen, right there in front of your faces, on your "watch", in your community. Surely you don't feel that way, or do you?
Perhaps, San Mateo County you are proud of yourselves, first trying to cover up the medical
negligence, medical misadventure of your para medics who killed Steven Nathaniel Wolkoff by
their incompetence.
Then defacing an innocent dead victims body, ignoring your accountability to his family that mourn with unimaginable grief the disgusting way you treated him, and to the other victims before Steven, and those in the future, for all who we tried to obtain justice, so that this would never happen again.
You "applaud this decision" of upholding the sadistic, callous, immoral behavior of the County against a dead young man, whose parents are simply trying to protect their son in death, as any loving parents would.
Then defacing an innocent dead victims body, ignoring your accountability to his family that mourn with unimaginable grief the disgusting way you treated him, and to the other victims before Steven, and those in the future, for all who we tried to obtain justice, so that this would never happen again.
You "applaud this decision" of upholding the sadistic, callous, immoral behavior of the County against a dead young man, whose parents are simply trying to protect their son in death, as any loving parents would.
To some of those people close to Steven's Case:
You know who you are. Many of you even spoke or communicated with me in various ways.
You saw the same horrific pictures of Steven, or witnessed the actual scene after the para-medics tortured him and asked the same questions as me as to why, how, and shook your heads in disbelief that first responders, their superiors all avoided taking responsibility for the suffering death that Steven felt, then on top of that, the desecration of his body.
What has happened to those of you who started out totally committed to expose the true facts of the evil that has been done to hide the sickening facts about what really took place during the time that Steven was your responsibility?
Where have you been during this time of despair and agony for him and his family?
You did not provide dignity for Steven in life while your para-medics killed him, and you failed miserably to give him respect in death.
You know all of what I say is true, yet none of you ever came forward to tell the truth.
Then two years after his death, you allowed those responsible for his dying, to slice apart his brain, defiling his soul, while you were supposed to be protecting his remains from any more abuse.
You know that, yet you never came forward to tell the truth about that either.
Those of you who I know that still have consciences, you are the worst of all. It is you who know better that your cowardly behavior, your silence, disgraces your own remaining humanity, because you did nothing.
You know who you are. You know you have done wrong, unlike the others who have no feelings, you are the ones who still feel.
You are the ones who never took accountability for what you did, what you know, what you saw.
I am sorry that you didn't see fit to come forward to tell the truth about what happened to Steven and my family.
I pity your lives filled with such denial, guilt, and the knowledge that you with consciences are more guilty than the evil clueless ones, don't fool yourself, you are no different than any of the others.
You knew better. You understand what your silence, lies, indifference and compromises did to make my sons life and future innocent victims in your County, such as him, reduced to cheap disposable lives.
You could have come forward with the truth and stopped this immoral, illegal behavior of those who have perpetrated such evil acts on fellow human beings.
You personally chose not to do so, and took the selfish, cowardly way out of not becoming involved.
Live with what you have done because it will haunt what is left of your own souls forever, I am certain of that.
I don't think that you are "applauding" very much about this decision, and your behavior that allowed it to take place.
Life is precious and death is to be respected, these are the most basic human beliefs that decent people live by.
Steven deserved better from you.
You know that, yet you are silent.
Shame on all of you.
San Mateo County: Judge tosses suit accusing coroner of mishandling man's brain
10/18/2012 04:19:20 PM PDT
REDWOOD
CITY -- A judge has dismissed a New York couple's lawsuit -- which they
refiled three times -- alleging the San Mateo County coroner mishandled
their son's brain.
Bringing to a close an approximately 19-month legal struggle Superior Court, Judge Joseph Bergeron ruled Wednesday that Jerald and Sandra Wolkoff cannot proceed with their case. The couple alleged Coroner Robert Foucrault broke the law when he allowed an ambulance company to take samples of Steven Wolkoff's brainstem.
In a two-page ruling Bergeron wrote the Wolkoffs did
"not identify any statute that requires the coroner to seek consent
before taking a body part." He didn't allow the family another chance to
refile, as they received in three prior court decisions on their suit.
San Mateo County applauded the decision, while attorneys for the Wolkoffs said the family is considering an appeal.
Steven Wolkoff died after a car wreck on Highway 1 in July 2008. His parents alleged in a separate 2009 lawsuit that ambulance company American Medical Response made errors that led to their son's death.
In response, the company got Wolkoff's brain tissue as part of its defense against the wrongful death case, which has since been settled for an undisclosed sum, attorneys said previously.
The Wolkoffs say they didn't know
the coroner had retained part of their son's brain, and never gave
their permission for it to be turned over to the ambulance company.
"The Wolkoffs are pretty upset about the
ruling," said their attorney Jayme Burns of Oakland-based law firm
Gwilliam, Ivary, Chiosso Cavalli & Brewer. "They were devastated.
Their (Jewish) faith requires the entire body be buried."
Due to
ongoing litigation concerning the wrongful death case, the removed parts
of Wolkoff's brain still have not been interred with him, Burns said.
San Mateo County Counsel John Beiers said the coroner didn't do anything wrong and the judge made the right call."The
court had been very benevolent in giving the plaintiffs several chances
to amend," he said. "Finally the judge had to close the door on the
case."
Foucrault was accused once before of mishandling the
remains handled by his office. Isolina Picon filed suit against the
coroner in 2007 after learning his staff had retained her son's heart.
Picon's suit was later dismissed.
