Alleged body part theft by Harvard morgue manager spurs lawsuit
The ex-manager allegedly sold body parts on the black market, leading to a lawsuit for negligence and emotional distress.
The son of a United States woman whose body was donated to Harvard Medical School (HMS) for scientific research has filed a class action lawsuit over allegations that the university’s former mortuary manager stole and sold body parts .
Friday’s lawsuit – filed in Suffolk Superior Court in Boston, Massachusetts – could concern the families of as many as 400 people who donated cadavers.
Earlier this week, a federal grand jury indicted former mortuary manager Cedric Lodge and four other defendants on charges that they sold donated remains on the black market. They were charged with “conspiracy and interstate transportation of stolen goods”.
Friday’s class action lawsuit, meanwhile, is seeking damages for negligence, dereliction of duty and inflicting emotional distress.
“Medical schools like Harvard have a duty to take care of it [donated remains] handled properly and decently and to ensure they are used for the intended purpose of scientific research,” said Jeff Catalano, a partner at Keches Law Group, representing the victims.
“If there is a breach of that duty, the family can be compensated for it through an emotional distress claim,” he added.
“We are shocked to learn that something so disturbing could happen on our campus – a community committed to healing and serving others.”
Learn about the charge and arrest of a former HMS employee for unlawfully transporting stolen remains. https://t.co/D1HzdVM77E
— Harvard Medical School (@harvardmed) June 14, 2023
Keches Law Group represents John Bozek, who believes his mother Adele Mazzone’s body was tampered with as part of the scheme.
Lodge, 55, and his wife, Denise Lodge, allegedly plotted to sell body parts such as heads, brains, skin and bones to other defendants named in the federal indictment. Those suspects then resold their purchases to other buyers.
Harvard says it fired Lodge on May 6. Deans George Daley and Edward Hundert called the alleged acts “morally reprehensible” in a post on the school’s website.
“We are shocked to learn that something so disturbing could happen on our campus – a community committed to healing and serving others,” the message reads.
“The reported incidents are a betrayal of HMS and, more importantly, each of the individuals who altruistically chose to donate their bodies to HMS through the Anatomical Gift Program to advance medical education and research.”
Lodge allegedly allowed some potential clients to come to the morgue in person to select which remains to purchase. He allegedly took other body parts home or mailed them.
However, bodies donated to the medical school are only intended to be reserved for research or teaching purposes. Once used, the remains are often cremated and returned to their families for burial.