Types of Funeral Home Negligence
Funeral home neglect can include allowing unlicensed staff to perform work, mishandling deceased loved ones, abuse of a deceased loved one, failure to provide contracted services, negligence related to the gravesite and burial, and stealing personal property.
Funeral homes have an obligation to treat your beloved family members with dignity during the funeral, cremation, and burial process. They also need to treat you and your loved one’s other surviving family members with respect and courtesy. However, this does not always happen. The result may qualify as funeral home negligence, and you may be able to pursue a civil case against them based on what happened.
Examples of Funeral Home Negligence
Negligence can occur in many different ways in a funeral home. This includes:
Allowing Unlicensed Staff to Perform Work
The State of Florida requires funeral home workers who deal directly with embalming, preparing the body, and cremation or burying the body to have the appropriate license. If a funeral home allows someone without a license to perform any type of work that generally requires a license, any missteps they make could support a funeral home negligence case.
Mishandling Deceased Loved Ones
Any time the funeral home staff fails to uphold their obligation to treat a deceased person with dignity and respect, it may support a funeral home negligence case. This may include both unintentional, careless actions and intentional acts. Some ways funeral home employees may mishandle a body include:
- Losing or misplacing remains
- Inadequate embalming
- Unauthorized cremation, or failure to cremate
- Additional concerns about cremation or cremains
- Improper temperature control and refrigeration
- Dropping or otherwise damaging the body
- Improper storage
Abuse of a Deceased Loved One
Sometimes, a funeral home worker may intentionally abuse the remains entrusted in their care. This could include:
- Intentional distortion or disfigurement
- Physical abuse
- Sexual abuse
Stealing Personal Property
Funeral home staff may remove personal property or even organs or other tissues from the deceased and use them for personal gain. This is illegal and will often support a funeral home lawsuit. This could include clothing, jewelry, currency, or other items.
Failure to Provide Contracted Services
A funeral home may not properly perform tasks related to embalming and preparation of the remains, cremation, funeral, or burial services.
Negligence Related to the Gravesite and Burial
Some negligence in a funeral home occurs after the funeral. This could include:
- Putting more than one body in a coffin or grave
- Burying the wrong remains in a grave
- A moved or altered gravesite without notification
- Vandalism of the gravesite
- Failure to provide the grave marker following the burial
Pursuing Legal Remedies from a Negligent Funeral Home
At the Law Offices of Wolf & Pravato, our funeral home negligence attorney Florida, and staff understand how difficult it can be to learn that your loved one’s body or memory was not treated with honor and respect. We know that this situation is likely difficult to discuss, and you are probably feeling angry, sad, and frustrated right now. So, our lawyer help to recover your funeral home damages.
A funeral home negligence lawyer will speak with you one-on-one, compassionately, and with empathy. We may be able to help you hold the funeral home accountable.
Talk to a Funeral Home Negligence Lawyer Today
If you believe you were the victim of negligence following the death of your family member, reach out to a funeral home negligence attorney from the Law Offices of Wolf & Pravato today. We can review your claim for negligence against a funeral home and determine if you have a compelling case to pursue compensation.
Call our office today at (954) 633-8270 to get started.
We also help the funeral home negligence victims in other cities:
