Legacy Emanuel lawsuit claims corpse photos were taken, shared for 'entertainment and amusement'

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- A new lawsuit against Legacy Emanuel alleges that an employee, or possibly multiple employees, took photos of a deceased burn victim and shared them for "entertainment and amusement."

On July 4, 2021, Seth Robert Thompson, 31, was at Heidi Manor apartments in Northeast Portland when a fire ripped through the building.

According to the court documents, Thompson and his girlfriend had to jump 30 feet to the ground to escape the blaze, however, burns and injuries from the fall gravely injured him. He was taken to Legacy Medical Center for treatment where the court documents said he later died.

Thompson's parents, Linda Stricker and Steve Thompson, sued Legacy alleging that on July 4 and July 8, photos were taken of Thompson's remains and shared online with potentially multiple people.

They claim that the photos were shared for "entertainment and amusement" and that the taking of the photos violated Thompson's family's constitutional rights to control the images of Thompson's remains.

The lawsuit states that Thompson's parents "feel ill" at the thought of "Legacy Health employees, and others, gawking at gratuitous images of their deceased child."

Thompson's family is suing for invasion of privacy, negligence, and negligent hiring, retention, and supervision for which they are seeking relief for damages "in an amount to be proven at trial."

KOIN 6 reached out to Legacy Emanuel and they shared the following statement:

As of December 23, 2021, the individual in question is no longer employed by Legacy Health. At Legacy Health, the safety and protection of our patients is our top priority. Legacy Health has a policy in place that adheres to all HIPPA Privacy laws and regulations to protect individuals' medical records and other individually identifiable health information. We are unable to comment further on pending litigation.