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Jury rules for half of 21 plaintiffs in used body parts suit

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Posted at 9:59 AM, Nov 18, 2019
and last updated 2019-11-19 13:55:41-05

PHOENIX (AP) - The owner of a now-closed body donation facility was found civilly liable Tuesday for mishandling remains in about half of 21 cases in a lawsuit filed by families of the dead.

A jury on Tuesday awarded $58 million to 10 of 21 plaintiffs in the case against Stephen Gore, owner of the Biological Resource Center of Arizona.

His business was accused of claiming the donated bodies would be used for medical research, when in at least two cases it knew the human remains would be sold for military testing.

Gore denied the allegations in the lawsuit but acknowledged when pleading guilty to felony charges his firm provided vendors with human tissue that was contaminated and used the donations against the wishes of the donors.

Gore's attorney said clients signed consent forms.