A dead baby allegedly was disposed of as "bio-waste" rather than being returned to her mother for burial, charges a lawsuit in Los Angeles.

Yolanda Garnett is seeking more than $25,000 in damages from Los Angeles County, its coroner and the county mortuary, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday.

Garnett alleged the coroner negligently disposed of her infant daughter's body as bio-waste after an autopsy in December, said the lawsuit filed this week in Superior Court.

The suit doesn't say how old the baby was or when she died and Garnett's lawyer declined Thursday to elaborate. The coroner's office said it had no record of Garnett or her daughter.

Under California law, death certificates are issued only for fetuses and newborn or stillborn babies that weigh at least 400 grams or had gestated for 20 weeks or more, the Times reported. Otherwise, the fetus is considered not viable and would be classified as bio-waste.  // Copyright 2007 by United Press International



Publication date: 03 October 2007   

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