Battery @ .59 volts raises questions

My car just got totaled a week ago and so I'm about to be using my brother's Contour. Anyway the battery was dead so I checked the voltage: .59 V. I hooked up the charger (at my dad's request, I told him it was dead) and now it's up to 12 and still increasing. Is the battery still f'd? Why did this happen?

even though its a 12 volt battery, they can at time be charged upto 13.2 volts. i am told to consider anything above 12.45 to be charged. but remember, just because the battery has the voltage doesn't mean it has the ampage. first i would check the water level if it is a non-mataince free battery. then let the battery trickle charge(low seting, no more then 2 amps if possible) for a day or two. sometimes trickle charging the battery will help restore a little life into the plates. then have the battery load tested(many autopart stores will test batterys for free)

batteries actually can go up to 15.5 volts safely when charging. usually 12.6 or so is normal, but you cant really tell by voltage how well a battery is charged.