No, says the Texas Supreme Court in a recent decision, Evanston Ins. Co. v. Legacy of Life, 11-0519. In the Legacy case, an insurance company did not want to pay when their insured, a non-profit tissue harvesting organization, sold a deceased woman's tissue after promising the family that the tissues would only be donated. The children of the woman sued on behalf of themselves and the mother's estate.
The insurance company asked the court to rule that they were not liable which the court did. The reasoning - neither the mother nor her children owned the body so they could not make a claim based on the way the tissue was sold instead of being donated.
As a side note, in any case involving an insurance company, the Texas Supreme Court always rules in favor of the insurance company so this ruling may be different in a different context where an insurance company is not involved.
Copyright by Robert Ray a Texas inheritance attorney.
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