As of June 23, 150 people have joined a class-action lawsuit against Boston-based Harvard University and the school's former morgue manager in a case related to stolen human remains, according to NBC Boston.
On June 14, federal officials announced the indictment and arrest of Cedric Lodge, Harvard's former morgue manager, and several other individuals. Mr. Lodge is accused of stealing and selling human remains from bodies donated to Harvard for medical research. According to the indictment, Mr. Lodge and his wife sold human remains to buyers from their New Hampshire residence from 2018 through August of 2022.
Keches Law Group filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of families affected by the thefts June 16 in Massachusetts' Suffolk County Superior Court. About 150 people have since joined the suit, which alleges Harvard and Mr. Lodge breached their duty of care and failed to take reasonable steps to "ensure that the cadavers were properly handled and maintained for their intended purpose of scientific study and not properly mishandled, dissected, and/or sold to third parties." An attorney with the law group believes up to 400 bodies were mishandled.
Harvard mailed letters overnight to families that may have been affected after the arrests were announced, released a detailed statement and created a frequently asked questions page, though has faced criticism for not addressing what processes are in place to monitor bodies donated for medical research.
The university has told several news outlets that it would not comment on pending litigation.