UCLA Body Parts Scandal:
Lawsuits and Legal Resources
Introduction
Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, is a national plaintiffs' law firm with offices in San Francisco that has represented bereaved families in lawsuits in California and across the U.S. in cases involving the desecration of relatives' bodies. Most recently, we represented families in the South in the Tri-State Crematory Litigation in Georgia which has resulted in settlements totaling $40 million. We are currently serving as attorneys for family members in the UCLA body parts scandal.
Allegations Made in Los Angeles of Illegal Sales in Body-Donor Program
Henry G. Reid, the former director of UCLA's willed body-donor program, was arrested on March 6, 2004, and charged with grand theft for allegedly selling hundreds of cadavers donated to the medical school.
Ernest V. Nelson, identified in press reports as a body-parts broker, was also arrested on suspicion of receiving stolen goods and accused of conspiring with Reid to profit from the sale of stolen bodies. The pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson acknowledged in a written statement that its subsidiary Mitek bought body parts through Nelson, but denied "knowingly" receiving samples that were obtained in "an inappropriate way."
UCLA's supervision of its body-donor program was called into question in a lawsuit filed in 1996. In their complaint, relatives of cadaver donors contended that UCLA mishandled the remains of corpses it received -- mixing cremated ashes from the bodies with medical waste, and possibly animal remains, and dumping it in a city landfill. A lawsuit has also been filed against Johnson & Johnson by families of cadaver donors alleging that the company bears responsibility for accepting allegedly stolen body parts.
Contact Lieff Cabraser
Family members of decedents whose bodies were donated to UCLA for medical research that wish to discuss their legal rights and remedies, at no cost or obligation, should call attorney Ken Klaudt toll-free at 1-800-541-7358 or send us an email message. All personal information will be held confidential.
About Lieff Cabraser
In addition to our other practice areas, since 1984 Lieff Cabraser has represented and obtained relief for the bereaved families of victims of illegal and disrespectful cremations and the desecration of human remains by crematories and funeral homes.
These lawsuits have included: In re Sconce/Lamb Cremation Cases, a landmark case in which the California Supreme Court upheld the right of close family members of decedents to assert emotional distress and related tort and contract claims for decedents whose remains were allegedly subjected to illegal and/or disrespectful multiple cremations and commingling; and In re Neptune Society Cases, a class action involving claims for emotional distress, personal injury, breach of contract, and consumer fraud claims arising from concealed illegal dumping of commingled human remains by the pilot who had been hired to scatter ashes separately over California's Sierra Mountains.
In the In re Tri-State Crematory Litigation, Lieff Cabraser tried a federal court case on behalf of families of whose relatives were improperly cremated or desecrated at the Tri-State Crematory in Noble, Georgia. The funeral homes that did business with Tri-State were also named in the suit. We were successful in forcing Tri-State and the funeral homes to pay damages in the amount of $40 million for the emotional distress caused by the mishandling of remains. Learn more about our firm.
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