Getting A Fair Funeral Home Lawsuit Settlement: Funeral Home Lawsuit in 2024
Have you experienced funeral home abuse and negligence? Don’t wait to file a funeral home lawsuit to recover your damages.
The death of a loved one is one of the most emotionally painful experiences anyone endures during their lifetime. During this time of grief, most people look for a supportive funeral home to handle the remains of their loved ones and take care of the burial arrangement. In addition to these tasks, we expect respect, honesty, and good faith from the funeral home.
However, in some cases, our expectations are not met. Sometimes, the funeral homes mishandle corpses or fail to provide the respect that the deceased’s corpse and mourning family deserves. If you also think you have a lawsuit against a funeral home, you should consult a knowledgeable and experienced attorney to protect your legal rights.
Different types of funeral home lawsuits
- Corruption, greed, and deception.
- Incompetence/honest mistake.
- Sexual perversion.
Common examples of funeral home abuse
1. Allowing unlicensed staff to perform work
There are various cases where funeral home workers deal directly with embalming, cremating, preparing the body, and burying the body – all of which require an appropriate license. If a funeral home permits someone without a proper license to perform any work that generally requires a license, you can file a funeral home lawsuit against them.
2. Mishandling deceased loved ones
Whenever funeral home staff fail to uphold their obligation to treat a deceased person with proper care, dignity, and respect, you are allowed to file a funeral home negligence case. It may include unintentional, careless actions and intentional acts. Here are some ways funeral home employees mishandle a body:
- Improper temperature control and regulation.
- Improper storage.
- Inadequate embalming.
- Dropping or otherwise damaging the body.
- Losing or misplacing remains.
- Unauthorized cremation, or failure to cremate.
3. Abuse of a deceased loved one
In most cases against funeral homes, a funeral home worker intentionally abuses the remains entrusted in their care. It consists of:
- Intentional distortion or disfigurement.
- Sexual abuse.
- Physical abuse.
4. Stealing personal property
Sometimes, the staff of the funeral home removes personal property, organs, or other tissues from the deceased and uses them for personal gain. These types of activities are illegal and often support a funeral home lawsuit. This could also consist of clothing, jewelry, currency, and other items.
5. Failing to provide contracted services
This is when the funeral home does not accurately perform its job of embalming the remains, cremation, funeral, or burial services.
6. Negligence related to the gravesite and burial
Some negligence in a funeral home also happens after the funeral. It includes:
- A moved or altered gravesite without notice.
- Burying the wrong corpse in a grave.
- Failure to provide the grave marker following the burial.
- Putting more than one body in a coffin or grave.
- Vandalism of the gravesite.
7. The psychological damages to relatives of the deceased
- Emotional distress.
- Funeral expenses.
- Loss of enjoyment in life.
- Other damages.
How to prove the negligence of funeral home
Proving liability in funeral home abuse or neglect cases generally involves four distinct elements. It includes:
Duty of care was owed by the funeral home:
Funeral homes owe their clients a duty of care to treat the deceased respectfully, fairly, and professionally. However, failing to fulfill any of these responsibilities often means their duty of care was breached.
The funeral home breached its duty of care:
The liable party failed to meet the standard of legal care when preparing, handling, or displaying the deceased.
- Improper temperature control and regulation.
- Improper storage.
- Inadequate embalming.
- Dropping or otherwise damaging the body.
- Losing or misplacing remains.
- Unauthorized cremation, or failure to cremate.
The breach of the funeral home causes you or your family harm:
If the funeral home is accountable for any abuse or error, you can easily file a funeral home claim against them to provide you the compensation.
- Intentional distortion or disfigurement.
- Sexual abuse.
- Physical abuse.
Losses were suffered as a result of funeral home abuse or negligence:
The actions of the funeral home lead to injuries to you or your family. However, it doesn’t matter whether you and your family endured emotional/financial hardship or not, these funeral home negligence cases must be compensated through a funeral home lawsuit.
Note: while some lawsuits against funeral homes arise out of negligence, some misconduct is intentional, such as the case with theft of items, abusing the decedent’s body, fraud, or selling organs. If you notice such types of cases, you may file a civil lawsuit citing the intentional behavior, and alert the authorities as soon as possible to initiate criminal charges.
Can I sue a funeral home?
People who can sue for a funeral home lawsuits include the following:
- Surviving children.
- Surviving spouse.
- Any heir stated in the deceased’s will.
- Surviving parents.
Statute of limitations to pursue your case
The statute of limitations is the time frame to file funeral home claims. In Philadelphia, the statute of limitations for funeral home abuse is 2 years after the date the abuse occurred or was discovered. However, if you miss the deadlines, you will lose all your rights to file a lawsuit or seek any compensation.
Therefore, it’s best to consult an experienced funeral home negligence attorney near you to keep track of all the deadlines and ensure your case stays on track.
Pursue legal remedies today
Ethen Ostroff and his connections understand the pain of losing a loved one. This is why we help our clients obtain the justice and recover maximum financial damages they deserve by providing them the best references to handle their case. If you have also experienced this type of injustice, consult Ethen Ostroff today.
