Trueblood

The widow and beneficiary of H. A. Trueblood, deceased, obtained a judgment for $7,500 upon an insurance policy, for the death of her husband which resulted from bodily injuries sustained through accidental means. The insurance company denies liability for two reasons. It asserts that death did not result from bodily injuries received exclusively through accidental means, and that the policy was invalidated by refusal to permit an autopsy upon the remains of the deceased for the purpose of ascertaining the cause of death.

For ten years the deceased had carried an accident policy with the Maryland Assurance Company of Baltimore. That policy was in force at the time of his death. In consideration of an annual premium of $25 the corporation insured the deceased “against loss resulting from bodily injuries, including death resulting therefrom, effected independently and exclusively of all other causes directly through accidental means”. It also provides: “The corporation shall have . . . the right and opportunity to make an autopsy in case of death where it is not forbidden by law.”

On July 13, 1930, the deceased, in company with several other persons, was engaged in swimming in an…