Is Funeral Home Negligence Common?
Although you might assume that funeral home negligence is rare, it would be an unfortunately wrong assumption. In recent years, many different news stories of shocking types of funeral home negligence have come to light.
A few of the most severe examples of funeral home negligence in recent news include:
- A county coroner in Colorado discovered around 200 decomposing bodies that had been improperly refrigerated by a funeral home.
- Operators at another Colorado funeral home sold body parts or entire bodies illegally.
- A funeral home in California left an incorrectly embalmed body to rot for nearly a week.
- Operators at another California funeral home delivered a prepared body to the wrong funeral.
Keep in mind that these are examples of instances of funeral home negligence that were shocking enough to make headlines. Realistically, there are many more instances that remain unknown to the public due to confidentiality agreements or “minor” abuses.
Signs of Funeral Home Negligence
If the above examples of funeral home negligence are any indicator of what can happen, funeral homes will rarely speak up when something goes wrong. Instead, instances of negligence or abuse that impact a deceased person’s body are kept quiet or hidden. For this reason, you may need to keep an eye out for potential warning signs that the funeral home you trusted actually harmed your loved one’s body through negligence or intentional abuse.
Common warning signs of funeral home negligence include:
- Unexplained delays with the handling of the body
- Surprise charges or unexpected discounts
- Overall lack of transparency
- Refusal to communicate with you
- Unsanitary conditions in the funeral home
- Unusual injuries to the body
Proving Funeral Home Negligence
Proving funeral home negligence can be difficult, especially if the funeral home intentionally tries to hide evidence of its mistakes. By hiring our Texas funeral home attorneys, you can leave all investigative steps up to us. Our talented team knows where to look for compelling evidence and how to use it properly in the context of your full claim or lawsuit.
Different types of evidence that could help prove funeral home negligence include:
- Communications with the funeral home
- Copies of all contracts, invoices, and other important documents from the funeral home
- Medical records of any other agency or clinic that examined the body
- Photographs showing signs of abuse or neglect
- Funeral home inspection reports from relevant government agencies
Should You Call the Police About Funeral Home Negligence?
In some instances of funeral home negligence, the actions of the funeral home aren’t just negligent, they are downright unlawful. If you suspect that a crime has been committed, you should either call the police’s nonemergency line or talk to our attorneys about it. We can help you decide how to involve the police and what to do with any reports generated by a law enforcement department, which could be beneficial to your claim.