Grupo Jurídico Keches filed a class action lawsuit in June against Harvard Medical School after allegations that Harvard Morgue Manager Cedric Lodge illegally sold donated body parts on the black market between 2018-2022. On December 7, an expert panel released a comprehensive report highlighting recommended changes the school needs to take.
In their report, the three-member panel highlighted many necessary changes including a change in staff hiring and training practices, changes in the morgue’s security, surveillance and equipment and the suggestion for a two-tiered oversight system.
“This report clearly demonstrates that Harvard Medical School’s morgue had substantial deficiencies in their operations that must be improved. It does not, however, provide answers as to why and how this desecration of bodies happened, which reaffirms our efforts to obtain answers on behalf of the victims and their family members through this lawsuit,” says Keches Law Partner Jeffrey Catalano.
What is the Class Action Lawsuit About?
From about 2018 through August 2022, former Harvard Medical School morgue manager Cedric Lodge sold body parts that had been donated to the school on the black market.
Lodge, 55, of Goffstown, New Hampshire, was indicted and arrested and charged with unlawful interstate transport of stolen human remains. Lodge was one of five people charged in the scandal, none of whom were associated with the university. Investigators believe that Lodge worked without cooperation of anyone else at Harvard Medical School or Harvard University.
Catalano, who specializes in medical malpractice cases, said when someone suffers the trauma of losing a loved one, “sometimes the only thing they can latch onto is that their loved ones’ remains are going to be used for an important scientific purpose. Harvard owed a duty of care to the families who entrusted the school with custody of their loved one’s donated bodies.”
Since filing the class action suit, hundreds of family members of victims have reached out to Keches Law. It is estimated that more than 400 donors may have been affected by the thefts.
What is the Summary Report on the Harvard Medical School Anatomical Gift Program?
In June, after Harvard learned about the theft and sale of body parts from their medical school morgue, the school named a panel of specialists to evaluate the anatomical gift program. It wasn’t until December that the school announced the results.
In fact, the report has been delayed twice—originally it was going to be released by the end of the summer, and then by October.
The 26-page report was released on Thursday, Dec. 7.
>> Families of Harvard Morgue Case Victims Want Accountability
Why Was the Report Released?
When Harvard learned of the thefts and sale of donated body parts, letters were sent out to family members of donors who officials knew were impacted as well as others who they could not rule out potentially being affected. At the time of the letters being sent out, the school also said it was having the report made to offer “constructive feedback and recommendations to improve the security and integrity of the program.”
The school had not made a second communication since the initial letters until the report was released.
On Dec. 7, Harvard Provost Alan M. Garber and George Q. Daley, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, mailed letters to registered, living anatomical donors who have chosen to will their bodies to the Harvard Medical School Anatomical Gift Program.
“As a critical next step, we have appointed a task force chaired by HMS Dean for Medical Education Bernard Chang to review the panel’s recommendations and to develop an implementation plan in an expedient and thoughtful manner,” school leaders said in the letter.
What Did the Report Suggest?
The report made numerous suggestions for how Harvard can improve their anatomical gift program to avoid such dramatic oversights.
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