Jury Awards $1 Million To Family Of Teen Whose Brain Was Kept For Testing

Jesse Shipley

A Staten Island family of a deceased teen has been awarded $1 million by a jury because of a morgue mess-up involving the teen's brain and other organ parts being kept for testing. In 2005, 17-year-old Jesse Shipley died in a car crash; though his family buried him, his brain was kept by the Medical Examiner and discovered in a jar two months later by his classmates on a school trip to the mortuary. "They were outraged that the medical examiner would take organs without telling a family member and hold them for a long time," the Shipleys' lawyer Anthony L. Galante told SILive, explaining the jury's decision.

The family conducted a second burial after discovering the morgue's mistake; they buried jars containing his brain and other tissue samples in a small casket on top of the one containing his body. Despite the verdict, the city is planning on appealing, and the family will likely not see the money anytime soon.

Jesse and his sister, Shannon, then 14, were riding in a Mercedes-Benz that collided with an SUV in January 2005. The impact crushed the back seat where Jesse was sitting; Shannon, the front-seat passenger, suffered minor physical injuries. The medical examiner ended up keeping the brain and other parts for study, despite not informing the family. Andre Shipley said, "I physically had [his brain] when it was returned to us from the morgue. It's my son. It's part of my son. It's my flesh. It's very upsetting, but what can I have done?"

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By Ben Yakas in News on November 25, 2011 1:40 PM

Comments [rss]

Emmily_Litella

That is clucking funny. They don’t deserve an award or a medal though.

Jihn Harn

the award seems pretty excessive ...

Miles Bader

Seriously. Maybe the ME broke a rule and should have their hand slapped, but $1 million is completely absurd.

cyncity.org

I am glad they won. I hope the city loses the appeal. Sorry, but stealing people's organs is against the law no matter what your job description or how dead the person is. Not only could this have been against their religious beliefs, I remember hearing there was a little sign saying "This is what happens when you drink and drive" even though no drinking was involved. So they also bad mouthed him in death too!

m015094

The appeals court found no evidence that the jar was labeled "This is what happens when you drink and drive." That appears to have been fabricated by the Shipleys.

Either way, the city will appeal this and it will be overturned because, like it or not, the ME had every legal right to retain the organ for further examination.