Woman Sues Research Institute For Removing Husband’s Brain

Ann Mozingo’s husband died of a brain aneurysm in 2000. Following her husband’s death, Mozingo agreed to donate samples of his brain tissue to the Stanley Medical Research Institute.

Five years later, Mozingo learned that an employee of the institute had actually removed her husband’s entire brain, brain lining, liver, spleen, and pituitary gland. Mozingo filed suit against the institute in 2005, alleging infliction of emotional distress, fraud, and negligent misrepresentation.

Mozingo is one of over a dozen families to have filed suits accusing the  institute of orchestrating the removal of a family member’s brain without the family’s consent. Of these numerous suits, only three (including Mozingo’s) have gone to court.

The jury heard opening statements in Mozingo’s case this week in Maine’s York County Superior Court.

SeeClark Canfield, Wife Sues After Husband’s Brain is Removed, The Associated Press, Sep. 22, 2011.