Funeral home mix-ups appear to be on the rise in the United States. If you had a traumatic experience after a funeral home placed the wrong body in your loved one’s casket, or wrongly cremated a relative, contact Belt, Bruner, & Barnett P.C. as soon as possible. Our Alabama funeral home negligence lawyers are here to listen to your experience and advise you on your best options.
Call us today at (205) 933-1500 to schedule a free and confidential case consultation.
Funeral Home Mistakes
Families across the U.S. have spoken up about traumatic funeral home mix-ups that left them dealing with additional grief and distress. In March, four separate New York families were affected by a funeral home’s mistakes. The deceased arrived late for each of the family’s services. One family reported having to remove another body from the space they had paid to use. Worse yet, one family receive the wrong individual dressed in their family member’s clothes. Each of these incidents greatly increased the family’s distress.
A Tennessee family also experienced the wrong person in their loved one’s clothes. In November 2017, a Chattanooga funeral home prepared the deceased for his family to come say their goodbyes. A nephew noticed that the individual was not his uncle. This was quickly proven when the individual in the casket was not a double amputee like his uncle.
Mixing up bodies is traumatic enough, yet some families experience more permanent mistakes. Funeral homes that mix up bodies have wrongly cremated individuals who wished to be buried. This is difficult for any family to deal with, yet it is a particularly grievous mistake for religious families whose beliefs require a specific burial.
Why Funeral Mix-Ups Happen
Funeral mix-ups are undoubtedly the result of human error. When funeral home employees are not as careful as they should be, problematic situations are more likely to arise. Common reasons for funeral mistakes include:
- Miscommunication between funeral homes, hospitals, and morgues
- Miscommunication among funeral home employees
- Failure to double check identification of a body
- Lack of proper training
Also, funeral mix-ups are not always based on careless employees. Some issues arise because a funeral home employee had fraudulent or criminal intent. They may have intended to do something wrong for their own financial gain.
Did You Experience a Funeral Home Mix-Up?
If you experienced a funeral home mistake or you believe the funeral home acted improperly toward your loved one in some way, the best thing to do is contact a funeral home negligence lawyer from Belt, Bruner, & Barnett P.C.
We will review your situation, and if we find evidence that someone at the funeral home acted carelessly, recklessly, or with ill intent, then we will review your legal options. You may have the right to file a negligence claim against the funeral home and pursue compensation for you and your other family members’ emotional and psychological distress. If there is evidence that the funeral home employee acted intentionally, then we may establish gross negligence and seek punitive damages.
To learn about your rights after a funeral home mix-up in Alabama, call us at (205) 933-1500 or use our online form to schedule a consultation.
