When Their Loved One Was Cremated Ahead of Schedule, They Called Us

When Their Loved One Was Cremated Ahead of Schedule, They Called Us

by Funeral Home Negligence

When Their Loved One Was Cremated Ahead of Schedule, They Called Us

When Harry Davila and his children first came to us in September of 2018, they were heartbroken and deep in grief. Harry had lost his dear wife Mary, and his children had lost their beloved mother.

However, their sorrow not only came from the fact that they lost her to breast cancer earlier that month, but also because they never got a chance to say a proper goodbye to their mom.

Why? Because the mortician wrongfully cremated her before the scheduled viewing for friends and family.

The cremation was supposed to come a day after the viewing, which had been scheduled for September 20th, 2018. However, a day before the viewing, the family received a call from the funeral home informing them that Mary’s body had been wrongly cremated.

It was hard for the family to understand how this could have happened. They had expressed their wishes clearly to the funeral home, but apparently someone wasn’t paying attention.

There probably isn’t a thing on Earth that’s more painful than losing a loved one. When a funeral home acts negligently while you are in the midst of that trauma, it’s just another twist of the knife.

The Davila family trusted Coral Springs Funeral Home with one of the most sacred duties we can give to another, and they utterly failed in their responsibility.

When Florida Funeral Homes Act with Negligence, Families Lose Faith

Unsurprisingly, this mistake caused the family to lose all faith and trust in the funeral home. One of Mary’s daughters even told us that she wasn’t fully convinced that the ashes they received from the home actually belonged to her mother.

Can you imagine living with that fear? With that unanswered question?

When Florida Funeral Homes Act with Negligence, Families Lose Faith

It’s not something that anyone should ever have to go through, and in fact funeral homes have a duty to ensure that things like this never happen. Consequently, the family has filed a lawsuit against Coral Spring Funeral Home, suing them for damages in excess of $15,000.

This case is just beginning, but here at The South Florida Injury Law Firm, we will do everything in our power to see to it that this family is compensated fully, and that justice is served.

Sadly, this case is just one of many. There are numerous ways that mortuaries, funeral homes, and cemeteries can be negligent.

Types of Negligent Behavior Florida Funeral Homes Can Engage In

A funeral home may be held liable for negligence if it fails to provide the service that it was contracted to provide. Examples include:

  • Losing, mishandling, or assaulting the deceased’s body
  • Cremating, burying, or presenting the wrong body at the funeral
  • Stealing personal property or selling body parts from the deceased
  • Switching the casket you select with a cheaper or defective casket
  • Failing to embalm or maintain the body in an acceptable manner
  • Committing an offense concerning the body of the deceased as outlined in Chapter 872 of Florida Statutes

Negligent Funeral Homes in Florida Should Be Held Accountable

Negligent Funeral Homes in Florida Should Be Held Accountable

It’s horrifying to think about all the ways a funeral home can be negligent. It’s even worse to have a personal experience in which the body of your loved one is mishandled or abused by a funeral home.

 

If you should ever find yourself in this position, know that you have the right to sue if a funeral home neglects, abuses, or is reckless with your loved one’s body. A skilled Florida personal injury attorney will work hard to make sure the negligent funeral home is held accountable, so that they will not be able to engage in this type of behavior again, and so that you get the compensation you need and deserve for any emotional distress caused by their actions.

 

 

About the Author:

Jeffrey Braxton is a trial lawyer in Fort Lauderdale who has devoted his career to the practice of personal injury law. As lead trial attorney for the South Florida Injury Law Firm, Jeff has litigated thousands of cases and is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, an exclusive group of attorneys who have resolved cases in excess of one million dollars.

Your Florida Funeral Home Was Negligent -- What Do You Do?

Your Florida Funeral Home Was Negligent — What Do You Do?

by Funeral Home Negligence

Your Florida Funeral Home Was Negligent -- What Do You Do?

No matter what type of sendoff you choose to give a deceased loved one, you want it to be respectful of them. This why many people turn to funeral homes – in the hope that they will show their loved one the care and dignity they deserve on their journey to their final resting place.

Unfortunately, funeral homes sometimes betray that trust when, through negligence or fraud, they mishandle or fail to prepare and maintain the remains of a loved one like they are supposed to.

Such was the case when a Florida man entrusted a Queens’ chapel and cemetery to prepare his late father for burial. When the burial didn’t go quite to plan, the man blamed both the chapel and the cemetery for ruining his father’s funeral on November 13th, 2018, ultimately bringing a $5 million lawsuit against both entities for negligence.

How does suing these types of entities work?

Suing a Funeral Home or Other End-of-Life Business in Florida

State law in Florida allows you to seek compensation from a funeral home or mortuary that is negligent in its handling of the remains of your loved one. People have brought funeral homes and cemeteries to court for the psychological and emotional distress that occur when a funeral home engages in negligent behavior.

Individuals who can sue for funeral malpractice and negligence in Florida include:

  • Surviving children
  • Surviving spouses
  • Surviving parents
  • Anyone listed in the will of the deceased as being entitled to the estate detailed in that will

Florida Funeral Home Negligence Explained

Funeral home negligence occurs when a funeral home:

  • Fails to perform the services that are required by their licensure
  • Fails to honor the agreement outlined in the contract with the loved ones of the deceased
  • Fails to offer the services it was paid to perform
  • Fails to uphold the funeral rule
  • Mishandles a corpse
  • Abuses a corpse

The extents to which a funeral home or mortuary can be negligent are reasonably broad. There are also times when, though the level of service provided falls short of your expectations, the funeral home isn’t being negligent.

Because of this, it is vital that you understand when poor service reaches the level of funeral home negligence. Talking to a funeral home and cemetery injury attorney is therefore a critical aspect of determining whether there are grounds for filing a negligence lawsuit.

Specific examples of funeral home negligence include:

  • Losing the body of the deceased
  • Providing the wrong body at the funeral
  • Mishandling the body of the deceased
  • Selling parts/organs of the deceased’s body
  • Performing sexual acts on the body
  • Stealing personal property from the body of the deceased
  • Failing to embalm, bury, or cremate as contracted
  • Replacing the casket provided without consent
  • Burying the wrong body
  • Using the wrong gravesite

Taking Legal Action Against Funeral Home Negligence in Florida

Besides the cases mentioned above, they are countless other ways that a funeral home or cemetery can be negligent. The negligence, and sometimes exploitation, are definitely something against which legal action can be taken. Everyone has the right to file a personal injury claim for negligence, exploitation, or abuse by a funeral home.

South Florida Funeral Home Negligence Attorneys

Remember, since your deceased loved one can’t fight for his/her rights, it up to you to ensure that they are not dishonored in any way while under the care of a funeral home. Contacting a knowledgeable Florida injury lawyer gives you the best chance at getting justice and making sure the negligent parties are held accountable for failing in their duties.

 

About the Author:

Jeffrey Braxton is a trial lawyer in Fort Lauderdale who has devoted his career to the practice of personal injury law. As lead trial attorney for the South Florida Injury Law Firm, Jeff has litigated thousands of cases and is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, an exclusive group of attorneys who have resolved cases in excess of one million dollars.

 

Ways That a Florida Funeral Home Can Act Negligently

Ways That a Florida Funeral Home Can Act Negligently

by Funeral Home Negligence

Ways That a Florida Funeral Home Can Act Negligently

Losing a loved one is one of the most painful life experiences that we as humans endure. The bereaved often rely on the support of physicians, clergy members, and funeral home staff to make the process of losing a loved one easier.

The majority of funeral homes operate responsibly, treating the deceased with dignity and the survivors with compassion. Nevertheless, funeral home negligence is a growing problem in the United States. Becoming the victim of funeral home negligence makes the experience of losing a loved one much harder for the bereaved, and it is as unethical as it is unnecessary.

When you have just lost a loved one, you are vulnerable. You may be left in shock or feel numb, making it difficult to keep track of what’s going on. You may also be more easily coerced by predatory funeral home practices when you are in an emotionally vulnerable state. Unfortunately, some funeral homes take advantage of this vulnerability by failing to treat the deceased as promised, or by engaging in unethical business practices with the bereaved.

There are a number of negligent and unethical practices that funeral homes may engage in. Below, we’re going to discuss common forms of funeral home negligence and signs to look for in order to ensure that you and your loved ones do not become the victims of funeral home negligence.

If you feel that you may have been the victim of funeral home negligence, consult with a Florida personal injury attorney to help evaluate your case and learn what options are available to you.

Improper Cremation Practices

Because families of the deceased receive unidentifiable cremains after cremation, improper cremation practices are harder to catch and therefore a common form of funeral home negligence.

Funeral homes may mishandle cremations by cremating the wrong body, losing cremains, mingling the cremains with another person’s ashes, or giving the wrong cremains to the family. In some cases, funeral homes have even failed to cremate bodies at all, and presumably given mislabeled or false cremains to the family.

It can be very upsetting to find out after the fact that your loved one’s cremation was mishandled. Worse, funeral homes may attempt to cover up cremation mistakes or deliberate mishandling by cremating the body early, or by cremating the body without the family’s permission.

Improper Body Transport or Storage

By entrusting your loved one’s remains to a funeral home, you are trusting that the funeral home will treat your loved one with respect and dignity throughout the burial practice. However, some funeral homes may cut corners by failing to transport or store the body properly.

This could include misplacement of corpses, dropping bodies during transport, transporting multiple bodies together, or failing to store bodies properly, allowing decomposition to set in.

Florida Funeral Home Negligence Lawyer

Theft

Funeral home employees may steal personal property from the bodies they are entrusted with, including jewelry, gold teeth, and prosthetics.

Even more disturbing is the practice of illegally selling bodies or body parts. Cadavers and body parts are used for medical research and training, and they can be sold for a substantial amount of money in the so-called “body trade.”

A number of funeral homes have been caught illegally selling cadavers and body parts without the permission of family members. One notable funeral home even ran a body brokerage firm from the same facility as the funeral home and facility, and was investigated by the FBI.

If you suspect that you or your deceased loved one could have been the victims of theft, consider speaking with local law enforcement and an attorney.

Overcharging for Burial Procedures or Services

Funeral homes may take advantage of grieving relatives’ vulnerability by selling services that aren’t really needed, or by overcharging for their services. For example, if embalming is not necessary for a private family viewing of the body and the funeral home states that it is, this could constitute funeral home negligence.

Failure to Provide Contracted Services or Goods

Some funeral homes may cut corners by failing to provide services or goods that family members have paid for. For example, the funeral home may provide a cheaper casket without the family’s knowledge, or they might fail to perform services related to the embalming and preparation of the body for viewing. Alternatively, the funeral home may fail to provide the grave marker or headstone after the burial.

Failure to Provide Grave Maintenance

In many cases, the family of the deceased will purchase a grave maintenance contract with the funeral home or cemetery. Under this contract, the facility is generally charged with keeping the grave site clean and free of debris, and with making reasonable security efforts to protect the grave from vandals or grave robbers.

Boca Raton Funeral Home Negligence Attorney

Failure to follow through on these services could lead to upsetting mishaps such as accidental corpse exhumation or vandalism of the grave site, which would be grounds for a funeral home negligence claim.

None of these things are acceptable, and you should not have to endure them in silence. Hold the responsible parties accountable by filing a mortuary negligence lawsuit.

 

 

About the Author:

Jeffrey Braxton is a trial lawyer in Fort Lauderdale who has devoted his career to the practice of personal injury law. As lead trial attorney for the South Florida Injury Law Firm, Jeff has litigated thousands of cases and is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, an exclusive group of attorneys who have resolved cases in excess of one million dollars.