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University of California Will Pay to Resolve Cadaver Misuse Suit

Posted on Jul 27, 2006

UC Will Pay to Resolve Cadaver Misuse Suit BY Robert Carrington Contributing Writer Thursday, July 20, 2006 View Printable Version Leave a Comment (0) | Trackback (0) E-mail to a Friend Recent Articles from this Writer More The University of California has agreed to pay $455,000 to settle a lawsuit over the misuse of a cadaver donated to the willed body program at UC Irvine. The lawsuit concerned Joseph Coghill, whose body was donated to the program in 1999. After concluding that Coghill's body had not been used for education and his spine had been sold illegally to a Phoenix research facility, family members sued the UC system. Family members also found that the cremated remains they had paid $800 to receive were not Coghill's. David Belz, the lawyer for the Coghill family, said the family sued for emotional distress and resulting physical injury. "Can you imagine not knowing what happened to your father's body?" Belz said. "There was a violation of a sacred trust." University attorney Tom Vasich said eight other lawsuits about cadavers donated to UC Irvine's willed body program have been settled. The total sum paid in settlements for UC Irvine willed body cases has reached $1.49 million. UC spokesperson Jennifer Ward said that all of the lawsuits were filed over problems that had long been remedied. The initial scandal with the UC Irvine willed body program occurred in the summer of 1999, when the university discovered that director Christopher Brown was illegally selling parts of donated cadavers for personal profit. UCLA encountered similar problems with its willed body program in 2004 when program director Henry Reid was also found to have sold body parts for profit, university officials said. The program was suspended until October 2005. Nineteen lawsuits concerning the UCLA Willed Body Program are currently pending. The UC system has since turned the administration of the willed body programs over to the UC Office of the President. "(The willed body programs) are run through the Office of the President to support a dual reporting structure for the campuses systemwide, to enact consistent standards and practices among the five programs and to consolidate the business process," Vasich said. The UC Irvine Willed Body Program has also undergone many reforms since 2000, including the establishment of an advisory board and a database of donor records. Medical advisor, faculty advisor and assistant director positions have been created as well. "UCI believes it runs an exemplary program today," Vasich said.