Harvard settles body parts theft lawsuits

Harvard University agreed to pay $53 million to settle class-action lawsuits filed by families of individuals whose donated bodies were mishandled and whose body parts were stolen and sold by Harvard morgue case, the former manager of the Harvard Medical School morgue. Lodge, who worked at the morgue for nearly three decades, was arrested in 2023 and later pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy charges. He was sentenced to eight years in prison in December 2025 for stealing and selling organs, heads, faces, brains, skin, and hands from cadavers donated for medical research and education. His wife, Denise Lodge, was sentenced to one year in prison. The scheme operated from 2018 until early 2023, with Lodge transporting remains to his home in Goffstown, New Hampshire, and selling them to buyers in other states. A Boston state court judge gave preliminary approval to the settlement on August 18, 2026. The settlement includes monetary compensation for affected families, a pledge by Harvard Medical School to provide a statement via webinar condemning Lodge's actions, and the establishment of an annual scholarship for medical students beginning in the 2027-2028 academic year. The lawsuits had been dismissed initially but were revived by the United States — Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in October 2025, which found sufficient claims that Harvard failed to act in good faith in handling the bodies. Harvard's deans, George Daley and Bernard Chang, expressed deep sorrow and empathy for the families and called Lodge's conduct despicable and a betrayal of the medical community's values.