July 2, 2007

Family sues body program
Jannise Johnson, Staff Writer

RANCHO CUCAMONGA - Margaret Brown-Hurst still tears up when thinking about her late brother, Norman James Jr., who died in 1999 after a battle with appendix and stomach cancer.

James donated his body to UCLA for medical research, but his remains were improperly disposed of and the university did not intend to use the body, according to a lawsuit filed by his family.

The lawsuit also claims that officials at the university's Willed Body Program have no intention of using the remains of any person of color for medical research.

"There is a racial aspect to it," said Brown-Hurst's attorney, Randy H. McMurray. "There's serious things going on with UCLA and the donated-body program.

"It is something we have an interest in, making sure people's last wishes are followed. The fondest hope is that it doesn't ever happen to anyone else."

Brown-Hurst's case was formerly handled by a law firm in San Diego.

In a deposition, Ernest Nelson, a former official with the program, said the only bodies ever used were the cadavers of whites, and that there was no demand for people of color.

"If it's a lie, then he told it to my lawyers," said Brown-Hurst, a Rancho Cucamonga resident.

Dale Tate, executive director of Health Sciences Communications for UCLA, denies the claim that the university has racial restrictions on what kind of bodies they use.

"The only restrictions we have is that the body must be of a person over 18 years old," she said. "They can have no infections such as HIV, and we don't accept bodies of people over 250 pounds."

In March, a Rancho Cucamonga resident and a former UCLA official were arraigned on suspicion of running a body-parts-for-profit scheme.

The men were arrested in March and charged with grand theft and conspiracy.

Nelson, a Rancho Cucamonga resident who owned and operated Empire Anatomical Co., is alleged to have made more than $1 million from the body parts and cadavers supplied by Henry Reid, the former director of the university's Willed Body Program.

The men allegedly defrauded the university's Willed Body Program of donor bodies for money from May 1999 to February 2004.

If convicted of the charges, Nelson faces seven years and eight months while Reid faces five years and eight months, district attorney's spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said in an earlier interview.

The preliminary hearing on the matter was held in June in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Brown-Hurst's lawsuit alleges that James' body was not used for research but was instead embalmed, stored in a cardboard box in a refrigerator from July 1999 to October 2001. At that point, the body was delivered to Macera Crematorium in Santa Ana where he was cremated, according to her lawsuit. His ashes were then scattered at El Toro Memorial Park in Orange County, the suit alleges.

"I was in total shock," she recalls after learning the news of what happened to her brother's body. "It was like somebody had told me that he had just passed away."

Brown-Hurst fired the lawyers she originally had on retainer in San Diego in April in favor of representation from The Cochran Firm in Los Angeles. So far, the firm has not amended the original complaint in any way, McMurray said.

McMurray is unsure about when the civil case will go to court. He did say however, that Los Angeles County judges are instructed to resolve cases in which the plaintiff is asking for more than $50,000 within 12 to 18 months after filing.

Brown-Hurst said she and the lawyers have not settled on the amount of money they are suing for. She said based on similar cases, the amount will likely be in the millions.

In addition to the lawsuit, Brown-Hurst said she plans to work with lawmakers to get a bill passed requiring more oversight of willed-body programs throughout the state.

She would like to ensure that other families never have to live through a situation similar to hers.

"His desire was for them to do research on his body, and that was part of his will agreement," she said of her brother.

Brown-Hurst is planning to call Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., this month to get started, she said.

Brown-Hurst described James as a dedicated scientist who worked for Cal State Fullerton as a chemist and physiologist. He left part of his estate to fund the Norman James Research Award through the Southwest Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine. According to the organization's Web site, the scholarship goes to students interested in studying exercise science.