A lawsuit filed against UCLA in 1996 was almost put to bed. But
recent allegations of criminal activity involving stolen donated
body parts at UCLA’s Willed Body Program have rekindled parts
of the suit that were seemingly unresolved.
The university was sued on behalf of families of almost 18,000
participants in the program in 1996, their attorneys saying donated
bodies were handled “without dignity.”
The recent allegations of misconduct have prompted attorneys to
file a new suit against the university on behalf of two California
residents who had their deceased family members’ bodies
donated.
Henry Reid, the director of the Willed Body Program, was
arrested for grand theft at his Anaheim home Saturday, accused by
the university of selling donated body parts.
Ernest Nelson, who is not a UCLA employee, was arrested Sunday
in connection with the incident and charged with receiving known
stolen property.
The 1996 suit had two parts which were still pending until
recently, but the new developments have helped justify one of the
case’s quests.
That case involved the remains of all the individuals who had
been donated to the university from the late 1970s to 1993, said
Mike Arias, co-counsel for the plaintiffs. He noted that the case
focused on the university’s suspected poor handling of the
remains.
One part of the case, which to date is still pending, is an
individual claim from a family member of a participant in the
program. The other part left from the case, is a class-action
injunction against the Willed Body Program, Arias said. The
injunction would put the court in charge of reform.
In early February, UCLA filed a motion with the court to block
the injunction, saying UCLA had fully cleaned up the Willed Body
Program.
Court Commissioner Bruce Mitchell signed the motion against the
injunction. But soon after the recent arrests, attorneys for UCLA
withdrew the motion, reopening the possibility of court
injunction.
He said the Willed Body Program’s contract “was
supposed to provide for the dignified handling of those
remains,” including the promise that after cremation, the
ashes would be spread at a cemetery rose garden ““ a promise
Arias said the university failed to completely uphold.
In 1993, a waste container holding human ashes mixed with other
used medical tools, broke apart in the Santa Monica Bay.
In 1996, attorneys said the ashes had been dumped in various
other locations and some of the cadavers had been used in a
practice called “canoeing” ““ the filling of
bodies with other medical by-products.
Reid was hired in 1997 to clean up the department and is
suspected of illegally selling body parts for profit.
He has come under increased scrutiny in the past week, and
according to The Orange County Register, Reid owed more than
$100,000 to the Internal Revenue Service when he took his position
at UCLA. Reid filed for bankruptcy shortly after taking employment
at UCLA ““ marking the third time he had done so in six years,
The Register reported.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Reid recently testified
under oath that he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in
philosophy and music from St. John’s College and a masters
degree in music from Cal State Fullerton ““ facts that
officials at the two institutions said their records did not
reflect.
On Wednesday, officials at UCLA said they felt misled by Reid,
the Times reported.
UCLA temporarily shut down the Willed Body Program on Tuesday in
a restraining order issued by Mitchell, who signed UCLA’s
motion a month ago stating that the program was in good shape.
Tuesday’s decision helped plaintiffs in the 1996 case,
Arias said, but added that there is more work to be done.
“I’m a strong believer in the philosophy of what
goes around, comes around,” Arias said, adding that the
alleged criminal developments helped re-open the plea for an
injunction.
While Arias said the new developments and arrests helped affect
the injunction, the suit filed on March 9 is completely new in the
respect that it deals with UCLA’s conduct from 1998 to the
present, and not with many of the same issues raised in the 1996
trial.
“UCLA promised that proper oversight, policies and
safeguards were put in place, and that donors and family members
could rest assured that bodies gifted to the university would be
properly handled,” the case complaint reads.
“There are no policies or procedures in place to ensure
that the Willed Body Program is properly run,” the complaint
also reads.
The recent developments have tainted the Willed Body Program,
but Arias said UCLA can act to clear its image.
“One thing (UCLA can do) is to be open with what has
happened, with what is happening and what will happen,” Arias
said. “They can’t do it behind closed doors.”