Obese Womans Death Changes Coroner’s Transport Policy

The obesity epidemic is changing the way first responders deal with patients who are literally 4 or 5 times as large as those patients they usually deal with. I have some compassion for the family of Mrs Smith, but also some for the coroner’s office. 750 pounds is a remarkable, tremendous, massive weight and I think they acted the best they could in a novel situation. Outcry over Mrs Smith’s post mortem plight did change how the coroner’s office will handle similar situations in the future.

Link to video that may or may not work.

Obese Woman Dragged From Home, Hauled Away After Death
Boyfriend, Son Watched As Woman Was Removed
TheIndyChannel.com  |  May 20, 2009

INDIANAPOLIS — The Marion County Coroner’s Office has come under fire after it was revealed that an obese woman was dragged from her home and hauled away on a trailer in front of family members following her death.

Teresa Smith, 48, who weighed 750 pounds, died Tuesday in her apartment on Indianapolis’ northeast side.

Officials at the scene told 6News’ Jack Rinehart that the deputy coroner made the decision to call a towing service to remove the body from the home.

“We debated for quite a while about how we were going to get her out of there and so we finally decided, since we didn’t have a van that was large enough to carry her, it was decided between (the police) department and the coroner’s office to use (the truck),” said Detective Marcus Kennedy.

Smith’s boyfriend and the couple’s 13-year-old son, along with several neighbors, watched as Smith’s body, still on her mattress, was dragged across the courtyard of the apartment complex, strapped down on the wrecker and covered with a piece of carpet.

“I think they should have handled it differently, putting her on a flatbed like they did. That was like putting a cow up there,” said Smith’s boyfriend, David Johnson.

Neighbors said they were also disturbed by the ordeal.

“What really got me is when they took her off onto the flatbed, they threw this dirty, dirty carpet on top of her, and I just thought that was so disrespectful,” said a neighbor, who did not want to be identified. “I would have never let them throw that on my loved one.”

Once on the truck, Smith’s body was escorted by police downtown to the coroner’s office.

Former Chief Deputy Coroner John Linehan said he was shocked and dismayed that appropriate steps weren’t taken to remove the woman from her home.

He said that fire and medical personnel have equipment available for handling patients up to 1,000 pounds and that moving obese individuals is not all that rare of an occurrence.

“When they scoop up dead dogs off of the street they don’t treat them that way,” he said. “It’s just not the way to treat a human being.”

Chief Deputy Coroner Alfarena Ballew told Rinehart by phone Wednesday that a flatbed truck has been used in other occasions to move obese individuals. She said the office is now looking for a way to transport Smith’s body from the morgue to the funeral home.

The Indiana State Coroner’s Association said it has no specific recommendations to handle extremely obese people. The decision is left up to each county.

UPDATE

Coroner: Obese Woman’s Death ‘Exposed Flaw’
Coroner Changes Policy Following Death Of 750-Pound Woman
TheIndyChannel.com  | June 11, 2009

INDIANAPOLIS — A 6News investigation following the death of an obese woman whose body was dragged from her home and loaded onto a flatbed trailer has prompted the Marion County coroner to institute new policies.

The office of Coroner Frank Lloyd Jr. had come under scrutiny after a towing service was called in to remove the body of Teresa Smith, 48, who weighed 750 pounds, after she died in her northeast side apartment last month.

Smith’s boyfriend and the couple’s 13-year-old son, along with several neighbors, told 6News’ Jack Rinehart they watched as Smith’s body, still on her mattress, was dragged out into the open, strapped down on the wrecker and covered with a piece of carpet before being driven downtown.

At the time, Lloyd said that the removal of Smith’s body was done with as much discretion as possible, and that proper equipment to handle the body was not available.

That claim was later contradicted by video shot by one of Smith’s neighbors clearly showing several pieces of heavy-duty apparatus.

A release from the coroner’s office faxed to 6News Thursday evening outlined a new policy for dealing with “complex or unusual” cases, including the need for external agencies to help remove a body.

If a case is deemed complex or unusual in nature, the deputy coroner at the scene will now be required to contact the coroner or the chief deputy coroner for direction.

“The Theresa (sic) Smith case clearly falls within the guidelines of a case that would be considered ‘complex or unusual,’” the release reads. “Her situation exposed a flaw which we feel has now been corrected.”

The release also said that the coroner’s office had apologized to Smith’s family.

Lloyd told 6News’ Rick Hightower Thursday night that the video was one of the reasons behind the policy change.

“Well, that and also the outcry from the community,” he said. “There are now things in place that would prevent that from ever happening, truthfully.”

Smith’s former boyfriend, David Johnson, said he’s glad to see a new policy enacted, but is still upset that it comes after the fact.

“I hope it never happens to anybody, because that’s a cruel way to do something to take them out on a flatbed truck like that,” he said. “I wouldn’t do anybody that way.”

Under the new policy, “complex or unusual” body removals also include multiple fatalities and scenes that might also be bio-hazardous.

There are state laws dealing with the handling of deceased people, but each of the state’s 92 county coroners create their own specific policies.