Harvard ruled as legally liable for theft of body parts from morgue

A US tribunal has ruled that Harvard tin beryllium sued by families that had donated dormant bodies of relatives to the university’s aesculapian school, which were past sold connected the achromatic marketplace by the ex-manager of its morgue.

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court connected Monday reversed a ruling from a little tribunal that had until present shielded the assemblage from ineligible action.

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The tribunal besides ruled that Mark F. Cicchetti, the managing manager of the Harvard Medical School Anatomical Gift Programme, is legally liable.

In his ruling connected Monday, Chief Justice Scott L. Kafker described the lawsuit arsenic a “macabre strategy spanning respective years” that saw the ex-manager Cedric Lodge dissect and bargain assemblage parts intended for probe and teaching purposes.

Harvard is facing 12 lawsuits from 47 household members of the individuals whose remains were improperly handled by Lodge and his associates betwixt 2018 and 2023.

The lawsuits allege that Harvard was negligent with its morgue information and disregarded guidance from the American Association of Anatomy.

Kafker appeared to hold with the families, penning successful his ruling that Harvard “had a ineligible work to supply for the dignified attraction and disposal of the donated quality remains, and failed miserably successful this regard, arsenic Harvard itself recognised .”

Harvard Medical School fired Lodge successful 2023 and described his actions arsenic “morally reprehensible.”

As portion of the scheme, Lodge transported stolen organs including heads, brains, skin, and bones implicit authorities lines, opening the lawsuit up to national prosecution.

According to Kafker ‘s ruling, 1 conspirator purchased 2 dissected faces for $600 from Lodge. He besides assisted the conspirator successful “finding quality tegument to supply to a 3rd enactment successful speech for his services tanning different quality tegument into leather.”

Another conspirator made 39 payments totalling $37,000 implicit PayPal to Lodge and his woman for assemblage parts, “including a $1,000 transaction with the memo ‘head fig 7’ and a $200 transaction with the memo ‘braiiiiiins,'” the ruling said.

Lodge pled blameworthy successful May to 1 number of interstate proscription of stolen quality remains. He faces up to 10 years successful situation and a $250,000 fine.