CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Thirteen families are suing Nueces County, alleging the medical examiner's office -- under the leadership of former chief medical examiner Dr. Adel Shaker and his former deputy ME Dr. Sandra Lyden -- performed botched autopsies.
That suit claims negligence by the county and the ME's office.
The law firms of Gowan Elizondo LLP, and Ralph M. Rodriguez, have been preparing to file the suit for months.
The suit was filed with County Court At-Law 4 Judge Mark Woerner.
Shaker, Lyden and the county are all defendants in the case.
The suit accuses the county of hiring Lyden, despite several arrests for prescription drug abuse in Florida. 3NEWS contacted Lyden's attorney about the claims and he said he had no comment because he hadn't looked over the suit.
A spokesperson for one of the law firms involved told 3NEWS he's hoping the suit will ensure something like this won't happen again.
"Change -- absolute change," said Gowan Elizondo LLP investigator and spokesperson Dave Johnson. "We can not ever let this happen again. The number of people who called my phone and I had to listen to these stories over and over again."
This suit is seeking actual and punitive damages, and the plaintiff's attorneys also are asking for their fees to be covered.
3NEWS checked with Woerner's office and no hearings or trial dates have been set.
Legal experts told 3NEWS that it may take years for the case to make it to trial if it isn't eventually settled.
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