What Is Funeral Home Negligence?

Funeral home negligence can take many forms, including:

Proving Funeral Home Negligence

• Mishandling your loved one’s body
• Not providing the agreed-upon services
• Embalming errors
• Giving you the wrong cremains
• Cremating or burying the wrong body
• Burying a body in the wrong cemetery plot
• Hiring unlicensed staff
• Stealing personal belongings from the body
• Other fraudulent or deceptive practices by funeral home workers

If your family suffered from any of these or another negligent act related to your loved one’s funeral service, cremation, or burial, a funeral home negligence lawyer can help you seek financial compensation. Legal representation will cost you nothing out of pocket, and you will not owe any attorney fees unless you win compensation. 

What Constitutes Funeral Home Negligence in Florida?

Funeral homes serve a family’s needs when they are most vulnerable. Funeral home staff should treat your family respectfully and adhere to your wishes. Negligence on the part of the funeral home can compound your family’s grief and cause emotional turmoil. 

Losing a loved one can be emotionally challenging. While feelings run high, you also must make a myriad of decisions. You should not have to contend with pressure to make unwanted purchases, nor should your loved one’s remains be mishandled or mistreated.

A local personal injury law firm will offer a free review of your family’s claim, clarify your rights, offer legal advice, and describe the steps they will take toward filing your claim for damages.

Mishandling of Your Loved One’s Remains

Your loved one’s remains deserve respect, and so does your family. Mishandling of remains includes:

• Illegal removal, sale, or distribution of organs
• Embalming without permission 
• Improper embalming
• Not storing the body correctly
• Losing or misplacing remains

This form of negligence can also include not abiding by choices your loved one made if they pre-planned and pre-paid for their final arrangements. It can also include cremating the wrong body, not returning cremains to you, or giving you the wrong cremains. 

Mismanagement of Your Loved One’s Funeral or Burial

The final arrangements for your loved one should run as smoothly as possible. No part of the service should add to your family’s suffering. Funeral negligence can include:

• Using an incorrect coffin
• Requiring a coffin for cremation
• Burial in the wrong grave
• Improper storage of remains

Stealing personal property from the deceased person’s body or the coffin and putting more than one body in a coffin or grave are also forms of funeral negligence. 

Undue Pressure to Make Decisions or Purchases 

You are only required to purchase the goods and services you want for your loved one’s funeral. Pressuring or forcing you to purchase an expensive funeral package, intentionally overcharging you, or using unlicensed embalmers or other funeral home staff can constitute negligence.

What You Can Do if Your Family Suffered Due to Funeral Home Negligence

Funeral home negligence is a type of personal injury case. According to Florida Statutes § 497.005, the following individuals can take legal action in these cases: 

• The decedent’s parent
• The decedent’s spouse
• The decedent’s child
• The decedent’s sibling

Other relatives and representatives could also be eligible to file a civil lawsuit. The best way to understand who can file a funeral home negligence claim is to let a local funeral lawyer handle it for you. 

Your Funeral Lawyer Will File Your Lawsuit on Time

In general, you have two years to file your lawsuit, according to Florida Statutes § 95.11. Failure to meet the filing deadline could mean you cannot file it at all, or the court will dismiss it without hearing it. 

A funeral home negligence attorney can help you understand the statute of limitations and the consequences you face if it expires. 

A Compelling Case File Will Prove Funeral Home Negligence 

If a personal injury lawyer represents you, their investigative team will collect evidence that supports your right to compensation. The case file your legal team builds will include your contract, receipts, and other documentation. Your lawyer will compile and organize your evidence and present it to the at-fault party’s insurance company with a settlement demand letter. 

Your Lawyer Can Negotiate for an Out-of-Court Settlement

If your family experienced funeral home negligence, you deserve time to grieve together and care for each other. Meanwhile, your lawyer will deal with the insurance company for you. To reach a settlement agreement, they will:

• Weigh the pros and cons of each offer
• Make counteroffers, when warranted
• Fight for the best financial outcome

In addition to negotiating favorable compensation on your behalf, your funeral home negligence lawyer will provide updates as settlement talks progress. 

Call (954) 633-8270 for Legal Support With Your Funeral Home Negligence Case

If a funeral director pressured you to purchase services you did not need or want, funeral home employees mishandled your loved one’s remains, or funeral home staff did not respect your family’s preferences, you could be a victim of funeral home negligence. Our lawyers will clarify what funeral home negligence is and how you can get financial compensation.

Contact our consultation team at the Law Offices of Wolf & Pravato to learn more about your rights and how we can fight to hold the negligent funeral home accountable.