The household of a person whose physique was within the custody of the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Workplace for 5 months filed a authorized declare Tuesday alleging that the M.E.’s workplace didn’t promptly establish him, leaving his household to consider he remained lacking.
The household of 19-year-old Ryan Lim alleges that his mom, Renee Lim, contacted the workplace final December to see if her lacking son had died.
Although she was advised nobody of their database matched her son’s description, Lim’s physique had already been within the M.E.’s custody for almost a month at that time, in accordance with the declare, which is a precursor to a lawsuit.
Although she continued looking for her son, it wasn’t till April of this 12 months that Lim was recognized. By that point, his physique “had been left to deteriorate to a `distressing’ situation,” in accordance with the declare.
“When requested, all of the Medical Examiner’s workplace may say was that they didn’t know why Ryan had been uncared for and neglected for therefore lengthy and admitted that `this could not have occurred,”‘ the declare states.
Representatives from the county didn’t instantly reply to touch upon the declare, which seeks $5 million in damages, representing $1 million for every month Lim remained unidentified. The declare additionally requests that the county audit the Medical Examiner’s workplace.
“This egregious failure of the San Diego County Medical Examiner to establish Ryan’s physique for 5 months brought on his household and significantly his mom — who by no means stopped looking for Ryan — unimaginable anxiousness, worry, and determined longing,” mentioned legal professional Marc Greenberg, who represents Lim’s household.
“Ms. Lim’s ache was exponentially multiplied by her final realization that, throughout the whole time that she was looking for Ryan, his physique lay alone and disregarded by the Medical Examiner, decreasing each day to a distressing situation that robbed her not solely of the possibility to see her son’s face one final time, but additionally of the peace of laying him to his last relaxation in a well timed method after his dying,” Greenberg continued. “No mother or father ought to ever must endure such ache — ache that the Medical Examiner’s statutory responsibility was expressly designed to forestall.”
–Metropolis Information Service
