SEATTLE -- The family of a man whose brain was harvested by the King County Medical Examiner's Office is taking legal action against the county, Team 7 Investigators reported.

The family claims the Medical Examiner harvested and then traded the brain without their consent.

This action comes just one week after KIRO Team 7 Investigators exposed how King County mailed at least 180 brains to a private East Coast research lab.

CLAIM FILED Claim Filed Against King County [pdf file]

Invoices prove more than $1 million came back to the Medical Examiner's Office in return.

Dozens of grieving next-of-kin said King County used unethical tactics to get permission to harvest the brains.

The $500,000 claim for damages was filed Friday morning against King County. It's the first legal step in what could end up being a very pricey lawsuit for taxpayers.

The claim says that in 1998, a mentally ill Seattle man's brain was removed by the medical examiner's office and sent to a research program.

The man's sister says the county didn't get any kind of consent.

MORE ON THIS STORY 'Excellent Brains' E-Mail [pdf file] Lawsuit Filed Against Stanley Institute [pdf file] Medical Examiner's Statement On KIRO 7 Report Public Health Director On KIRO 7 Report

Bradley Gierlich was homeless. When he died, he was targeted as a prime candidate for the King County Medical Examiners "Stanley Project."

Stanley is a research company in Bethesda, Md. that studies mental illness.

The Medical Examiner was supposed to get the Gierlich family's permission to remove and use the brain for research. His sister, Bobbi, in the complaint, says the M.E. never did.

"To not have a consent and perform, remove somebody's brain without a consent, there's a flaw there," she told us on the phone from North Carolina. "I think it's egregious. It really has affected me personally as his sister and his only family member in my immediate family that's alive."

We were there Friday when Tacoma attorney Steve Bulzomi officially notified the county that it is liable for what he calls a "ghoulish" mistake.

MORE ON THIS STORY Text Of Agreement Between Stanley Institute, King County M. E. [pdf file] Money Paid To King County M.E.'s Office By Stanley Institute E-mail From County Official Regarding Legality Of Agreement State Law Regarding Consent E-mail link to King County Health Director Alonzo Plough, who oversees M.E.'s Office (and KIRO Team 7 Investigators)

"I think most people trust that the medical examiner will treat the remains of relatives with dignity they deserve and it's very disturbing to hear that body parts were sold for profit, essentially, and they were not told about it or misled about what they were agreeing to," Bulzomi said.

Bulzomi said the medical examiner not only removed Gierlich's brain without consent, but possibly other parts as well.

The legal claim says "The Stanley Medical Research Institute paid King County for the unauthorized, wrongful, illegal, and immoral removal and shipment of Bradley Gierlich's brain and other tissue."

It goes on to add "As a result of personnel of the King County Medical Examiner's Office, claimant has suffered significant emotional distress and other harm."

KIRO Team 7 Investigators can confirm that the M.E. doesn't have a consent form on file for Gierlich. Under the Open Records Act, we obtained 180 consent forms. The names of the brain donors have been whited out, but there is not a form in the pile for the days surrounds Gerilich's death.

"The power of the subpoena, the power of the discovery process will shine some sunlight into this process. We'll find out who did what and why," Bulzomi said.

The law says the King County Risk Management Office has 60 days to approve a half-million dollars payment to the Geirlich family or the case ends up in front of a judge.