When Can I Sue A Funeral Home For Mishandling A Deceased Loved One?

Few events in life are as difficult and painful as the death of a loved one. Those left behind face a myriad of details and tasks that feel overwhelming and upsetting, such as selecting a funeral home or mortuary to entrust with the final care of your loved one’s body in preparation for burial. The stress of making these choices can be amplified because you feel a duty to make everything perfect for this last demonstration of your love and respect for the person you have lost.

In most cases, the family will turn to a trusted funeral home for guidance and assistance in meeting the final requests of their loved one. Most often, the body must be prepared for a funeral that will provide loved ones and friends a final opportunity to say goodbye to the deceased. Using a trusted funeral director or service provides added confidence and peace of mind that the process will be handled professionally and respectfully. However, in some instances, the family has no known resources and must trust a local service with whom they do not share a history. In these cases, there is often fear and concern that the unthinkable will occur.

Fortunately, most funeral homes and mortuary services are well-respected and caring members of the community who are dedicated to serving the needs of their friends and neighbors at this most difficult time. However, as with any industry, not all funeral homes are being operated for the good of their customers. Some are taking advantage of family members who have lost a loved one and are not prepared to make wise choices or to see the harm and hazards that could be awaiting their loved one’s body.

If you and your family have lost a loved one, the entire team at Kenmore Law Group would like to offer our deepest condolences for your loss and the pain it has caused you. In addition, if you have concerns that the deceased body was mishandled or that the funeral home was negligent in its care of your loved one, please reach out to our office staff immediately. Our team can be reached 24/7 to ensure you get the information and help you need to resolve this matter as swiftly as possible.

We would also like to extend an offer for a free consultation with a seasoned attorney who handles funeral home negligence lawsuits and cases involving mishandling of the deceased. At this meeting, you can share the details of the services provided and any issue you feel could give you reason to question the quality and professionalism of the services provided to your loved one and family. With all the vital information gathered, our expert will explain the legal merit of your claim and if you have grounds to pursue legal action against the funeral home or mortuary that handled your loved one and their service.

At that point, you can choose to seek compensation via a lawsuit or not. It is always your choice, and you are never obligated to hire our firm, even if you do take legal action related to this matter. All we ask is that you contact our office quickly to ensure you understand the time limit to file a claim with the court if you wish to seek compensation for the negligence of the funeral home that mistreated your loved one.

What Is Considered Funeral Home Negligence?
If you are like most people, you have a general idea of the tasks required to prepare a deceased person for burial. However, you are happy to leave all the details out of the conversation when you are making arrangements with the funeral director. They use general terms like preparation and preparation to help make the discussion less traumatic for the deceased’s family, and you entrust them to follow proper procedures to do their jobs. However, blind faith in a funeral director or home can result in devastating circumstances.

Sadly, the time most loved ones discover an issue with the preparation of their loved ones is when they arrive at the funeral home for the service or visitation time. While they have tried to steel themselves for the difficult events, there is nothing that can prepare you for the failures of a funeral home to properly handle your loved one’s body and these disturbing results:

• There is a distinct foul odor to the body because of poor embalming or failure to properly cleanse the body
• The makeup and preparation were very poorly completed, and the body does not appear as it was described it would be, or it looks nothing like your loved one
• The body was damaged beyond repair during the preparation and is not fit to be viewed in an open casket service
• The casket falls from the stand during the viewing or is dumped in transit, and your loved one falls from the casket

If you and your family have suffered any of these horrendous incidents and disrespect to your deceased loved one, please know that Kenmore Law Group is here to assist you in seeking justice. Our staff will begin working to help you the moment you contact our office, regardless of the time of the day or night. Our job is to help you correct any possible issues so you can properly pay your respects to your lost loved one.

What Is California Funeral Home Negligence?
As with most industries, there are specific laws and requirements for operating a funeral home business in the state. They include the obligation to meet all the standard operating practices of the industry and others imposed by the state for health and safety standards. Anyone working in this industry must comply with these laws and guidelines or face punishment for violating their duty of care. These standard practices include obligations such as:

• Proper cleaning of the body and embalming
• Respectful and ethical treatment of the deceased’s body
• Careful and respectful transportation of the deceased
• Compliance with all industry standards and practices when processing a body for burial

It is critical to understand that in addition to specific processes and professional standards, the industry standard for meeting duty of care extends to complying with all special requests of the family or arrangements that were included in the contract between the deceased family and the funeral home. The compliance requirements of funeral home duty of care apply to the funeral director and all funeral home or mortuary employees. If any fail to meet these obligations, the deceased’s family could have grounds for a negligence lawsuit against the funeral home.

Who Can File A Funeral Home Negligence Lawsuit?
You are sure to have worked diligently to meet your loved one’s last requests. Many people feel this is the last time they will lovingly take steps to meet this person’s wishes, so they work with great care and dedication to ensure all details are addressed. However, in rare cases, planning the funeral is not the last service you will provide for your loved one. If their body was mishandled while being prepared for burial, you have the right to seek justice for these acts that were inflicted upon them. To legally have the right to file a lawsuit on behalf of the deceased for funeral home negligence, you must be:

• The surviving spouse of the deceased
• A child of the deceased
• A surviving parent of the deceased
• One of the deceased adult siblings
• An adult in the next level of kinship, such as an aunt, uncle, or cousin, who is competent to pursue legal action

What Is The Possible Value Of A Funeral Home Negligence Or Mishandling Of The Deceased Lawsuit?
There is no question that no amount of compensation can turn back the clock and stop the harm that was caused to you and your loved ones due to funeral home negligence or mishandling of your loved one. However, the compensation that can be recovered from the guilty party can be used to ease the financial burned caused by these unthinkable events and the stress it created. The compensation often awarded in these cases includes:

• The cost of additional funeral home services or purchases from another funeral home to correct the negligence of the company contracted to complete the preparation of your loved one
• Some or all of the fees paid to the negligent funeral home
• Your lost income if you missed work due to the negligence of the funeral home and correcting any issues
• Your medical expenses if the mishandling of your deceased loved one caused you to suffer emotional or physical ailments that needed treatment or therapy
• All legal costs associated with the mishandling of the deceased lawsuit

How Long Do I Have To Take Legal Action?
The legal system allows family members of the mishandled deceased two years from the date of the incident to file a claim against the funeral home. If the case is not filed with the court in that time, you will lose the right to seek justice and compensation for the harm and losses caused by this event.

No Added Financial Stress
When you work with Kenmore Law Group, we never ask for any upfront legal fees from our new clients. Instead, we immediately begin any case with legal merit and only get paid after the case has been completed. Finally, if our expert legal team fails to win your funeral home negligence lawsuit, you owe Kenmore Law Group nothing for our time and investment in the lawsuit.