Settlement Reached
Harvard University has agreed to pay $53 million to resolve civil lawsuits stemming from the theft and sale of human remains that had been donated to its medical school for scientific research. The class action settlement was preliminarily approved in Suffolk Superior Court on Tuesday afternoon, with Judge Debra Squires-Lee finding the settlement "fair, just, reasonable and adequate to the certified Class and its members." A final court approval hearing is scheduled for December.
Harvard said on Monday it would seek court approval to establish "two class action settlement funds totaling $53 million." In a joint letter to the medical school community, George Q. Daley, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, and Bernard S. Chang, Dean for Medical Education, wrote that "a third-party Settlement Administrator will be appointed to, among other things, notify potential class members — including by creating a website with information on eligibility and instructions for submitting a claim — and to distribute settlement funds." They added that the process "from beginning to end, is expected to take several months."
The Scheme and Convictions
The lawsuits stem from a scheme between 2018 and 2022 in which Cedric Lodge, who managed the morgue at Harvard Medical School until he was dismissed in 2023, facilitated the trade of human body parts donated to the medical research facility. Lodge, 58, pleaded guilty in May to stealing and selling human body parts in a nationwide scheme. Prosecutors said the theft involved organs, skin, brains and dissected heads from cadavers donated to Harvard from 2018 through at least March 2020.
Lodge "took the remains without the knowledge or permission of his employer, the donor, or the donor's family" and transported them to his home in Goffstown, New Hampshire, where he and his wife would ship them to buyers in other states, according to a US justice department statement. "Remains stolen and sold by the Lodges were transported from the morgue in Boston to locations in Salem, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania," the statement said. "Many of the remains purchased from Lodge were resold for a profit."
Lodge was sentenced in December to 96 months in prison for interstate transport of stolen human remains, while his wife Denise Lodge, 65, was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison for her role in the scheme. Seven other co-conspirators were convicted of crimes related to the trade, including a Haverhill woman sentenced to two years in jail, as reported by The Boston Herald. Several other defendants also entered guilty pleas in related cases and were sentenced, according to the justice department.
Lawsuits and Legal Proceedings
Affected families began filing lawsuits against Harvard in the summer of 2023, shortly after Lodge was indicted, alleging negligence, breach of fiduciary duty and infliction of emotional distress. Forty-seven relatives of the people whose remains were potentially mishandled filed initial lawsuits against President and Fellows of Harvard College, AGP director Mark Cicchetti, and AGP manager Tracey Fay, as reported by The Boston Herald.
The initial lawsuits were dismissed in Superior Court on the grounds that the defendants were entitled to a "good faith" defense under the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act. However, the Supreme Judicial Court reversed the dismissal, ruling that plaintiffs established "peculiarly pervasive noncompliance" with the requirements of the act.
Settlement Terms and Reactions
As part of the settlement, Harvard Medical School will make a statement to claimant families via a live webinar affirming that Lodge's conduct was "morally reprehensible" and inconsistent with Harvard's standards, along with a summary of changes made to its Anatomical Gift Program, as reported by The Harvard Crimson. The school will also establish an annual financial aid scholarship for medical students starting in the 2027-28 academic year, which it said is intended "in appreciation and in honor of all of our anatomical donors."
Harvard leadership said the process of recovering from this painful incident continues. In a joint letter, Daley and Chang said they were "grateful to be working together with the plaintiffs to move forward in a way that prioritizes support for families and the (organ donation program) and avoids prolonged litigation." They described Lodge's actions as "despicable, abhorrent, and a flagrant betrayal of our values as a medical community."
Attorneys for the plaintiffs also commented on the settlement. Jonathan Sweet of Keches Law said Harvard "worked cooperatively toward resolution of the litigation," while Jeffrey Catalano of the same firm said the case "was always about more than financial compensation" and about dignity and trust.
In a statement entitled "An abhorrent betrayal," Harvard Medical School deans George Daley and Edward Hundert had earlier called Lodge's actions "morally reprehensible." The school implemented commissioned recommendations to update the Anatomical Gift Program in 2023 related to governance, policies, communications, specimens, collections, and facilities.