DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Supreme Court has ruled that deceased Slipknot bassist Paul Gray’s child may sue for loss of a parent’s companionship, affirming the rights of children born after a parent’s death. The ruling Friday comes in the wrongful death lawsuit that Gray’s widow filed after the heavy metal bassist died of a drug overdose in May 2010.

Brenna Gray sued several medical care providers that were treating her husband’s drug addiction. Lower courts dismissed the suit because its filing two years after Gray’s death exceeded Iowa’s statute of limitations.

The Supreme Court upheld the dismissal for Brenna Gray – but said her daughter could pursue damages. The court said the deprivation of her father’s comfort and guidance is no less real because she didn’t experience it while in utero.