A federal judge Thursday approved the $5.25 million settlement of a lawsuit over the former Hamilton County coroner's policy of removing corneas from bodies without families' permission.

        U.S. District Judge S. Arthur Spiegel told a courtroom full of families backing the settlement that he thinks the deal is fair and adequate.

        Attorneys for 542 families worked out the deal to end their lawsuit against Hamilton County and two eye bank groups. The agreement concludes a lawsuit filed in 1989.

        The agreement will avoid more years of court battles and speed the money settlements, attorneys for both sides told the judge Thursday.

        A court-appointed lawyer will review claims and decide how much each family will receive from the settlement fund, subject to final approval of the federal court. That could take months.

        John Metz, attorney for the families, declined to speculate on the range of payments.

        Of the 542 families that could be covered by the settlement, 338 have been located and notified through mailings, newspaper advertisements or private investigators, Mr. Metz said.

        Corneas were removed from 601 corpses that underwent autopsies in Cincinnati between Aug. 2, 1985, and Nov. 4, 1990, the period covered by the lawsuit. Families participating in the settlement are from as far away as California, Texas and New Jersey.

        Some families that were contacted decided not to participate in the settlement, Mr. Metz said. They have the option of filing individual lawsuits.

        Settlement participants agree to end their litigation. The terms were revealed in July.

        Several who spoke during the court hearing said they support the settlement to end the emotionally stressful litigation. But, they said that no amount of money truly can compensate families who learned corneas were taken for transplants without their permission.

        Mel and Joyce Brenner of Wilmington, Ohio, said they had signed a form forbidding the taking of any organs from the body of their 17-year-old daughter Sandy, killed in a June 1989 highway collision.

        But the corneas were removed and the Brenners were never notified, they said. They found out two years later through the lawsuit that the corneas had been removed.

        Coroner Frank Cleveland, who retired in 1995, allowed the removals.

        He said he did it under an Ohio law — similar to those in some other states — that allows cornea removals if coroners are unaware of any objections. Dr. Cleveland said later that his policy was not to look at medical forms families had signed to forbid organ donations.

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