Those who have had a California funeral home or mortuary mishandle, lose, damage or abuse the remains of their loved ones may qualify to file a lawsuit and pursue financial compensation with the help of our experienced funeral home negligence lawyers.
Funeral home lawsuits allege that funeral homes mishandle, lose, damage or abuse remains because they fail to act with the same level of care that a reasonably careful entity would.
Families entrust funeral homes and mortuaries with an irreplaceable responsibility: the dignified care of their loved one’s remains. The harm to surviving family members can be severe and permanent when a mortuary or funeral home breaches that trust through negligence, misconduct or abuse.
Funeral Home Negligence Attorneys – Key Takeaways:
- Funeral home negligence occurs when a funeral home owes a duty to be careful, breaches that duty, and harm occurs because the funeral home breached that duty.
- Families of loved ones can recover financial compensation from negligent funeral homes with the help of lawyers.
- Common examples of funeral home negligence include misidentifying or mishandling remains, improper embalming or refrigeration leading to body decomposition, stealing jewelry, gold fillings or personal property from the deceased, and losing or commingling cremated remains.
- Families may be able to recover compensation for emotional distress, grief, psychological trauma, the cost to buy a new casket or urn, or the cost to arrange additional funeral services because of the error of a funeral home.
Why Families Trust Nadrich Accident Injury Lawyers
• Experience handling emotionally complex negligence claims
• Trial-ready representation against funeral homes and insurers
• Responsive communication and compassionate legal support
• No fee unless we recover compensation for your family
We can help you pursue financial compensation. Call us today for a FREE consultation at (800) 718-4658 or contact us if your loved one’s remains were mishandled by a mortuary or funeral home and you suspect funeral home negligence.
Table of Contents
- What Is Funeral Home Negligence?
- Do I Qualify for a Funeral Home Lawsuit?
- Examples of Funeral Home Abuse and Negligence
- Who Is Liable for Funeral Home Abuse or Negligence?
- Average Funeral Home Lawsuit Settlements: What Is My Case Worth?
- Statute of Limitations for Funeral Home Negligence Claims in California
- FAQs
- Contact Our Funeral Home Negligence Lawyers Today
What Is Funeral Home Negligence?
Funeral home negligence occurs when a funeral home, crematory, mortuary or other death care provider fails to handle human remains with the legally required standard of care, causing emotional or financial harm to the surviving family.
Christensen v. Superior Court (1991) established California families’ right to sue for damages when remains are mishandled. Funeral establishments owe a duty of care to both the decedent and to the family under California law.
Negligence can range from honest mistakes like administrative mix-ups to deliberate misconduct such as theft and abuse.
California’s Cemetery and Funeral Bureau licenses and regulates funeral establishments. Violations can support both regulatory complaints and civil lawsuits.
Funeral homes have a legal obligation to perform services with due care, as well as according to established professional standards. Any breach of this legal duty may result in legal consequences for funeral homes.
About 3,500 complaints of funeral home negligence get filed each year. 10 percent of funeral homes in the U.S. have been cited regarding violations. This indicates that negligence is a large issue in the funeral service industry.
Cases of funeral home negligence involve profound emotional trauma, breach of contract, and state regulatory violations.
Do I Qualify for a Funeral Home Lawsuit?
You may have legal grounds to file a lawsuit if a California mortuary or funeral home mishandled, lost, damaged or abused the remains of your loved one.
Immediate family members, including spouses, children, parents and siblings, generally have standing to file.
Examples of Funeral Home Abuse and Negligence
Examples of funeral home abuse and negligence include:
- Cremating a body without consent
- Cremating the wrong body and delivering the wrong ashes to a family
- Co-mingling or commingling cremated remains of multiple decedents
- Losing or misplacing cremated remains or the body itself
- Burying a body without consent
- Burying the wrong body
- Burying a body prior to a funeral
- Placing two bodies in a single coffin
- Improper storage of remains without proper refrigeration, leading to deterioration
- Harvesting or stealing organs, tissue or gold dental fillings for resale
- Mishandling, dropping or otherwise damaging the body during preparation
- Placing the wrong body in the wrong casket or grave site
- Failing to embalm or cremate remains within a reasonable time
- Sexually abusing or maiming a corpse
- Disposing of cremated remains improperly (e.g. in flower beds instead of at sea as instructed)
- Charging families for services never rendered or using deceptive billing practices
- Failing to follow the religious practices requested by the family during the handling and preparation of a body
Mishandling of remains can include actions like damaging or dropping the body, placing the wrong body in a casket, or switching bodies. These actions may lead to severe emotional harm for families.
The “Right of Sepulcher” refers to a legal right of the next of kin to have control over the disposition of the remains of the deceased. This includes decisions about cremation, burial and other final arrangements. Failure to follow families’ instructions regarding cremation or burial wishes is considered a severe breach of trust and may amount to negligence.
Theft of personal items entrusted to a funeral home, like sentimental belongings or jewelry, constitutes both breach of trust and theft.
Who Is Liable for Funeral Home Abuse or Negligence?
Parties who may be held liable for funeral home abuse or negligence include:
- The funeral home or crematory that directly handled the remains (typically the primary defendant)
- Individual employees or morticians who personally committed misconduct
- Corporate parent companies, funeral home owners or ownership groups that oversee multiple funeral home locations
- Third-party contractors such as transport companies or body brokers
Establishing liability requires showing that a duty of care was owed, the duty was breached and harm was caused as a result.
A skilled mortuary lawyer will investigate records, staff conduct and facility practices to identify all responsible parties.
Average Funeral Home Lawsuit Settlements: What Is My Case Worth?
The value of mortuary negligence cases can vary widely based on the severity and nature of any misconduct.
Damages in mortuary negligence cases primarily reflect the emotional and psychological harm inflicted on surviving family members.
Cases involving deliberate abuse, organ theft or sexual misconduct tend to be more valuable than cases involving administrative mix-ups.
Families who have suffered because of funeral home negligence could be entitled to numerous types of compensation. This includes compensation for financial losses, emotional distress, and punitive damages when extreme misconduct occurs.
There is no universal settlement range. Contact a funeral home negligence attorney to evaluate the specific facts of your case.
Our law firm can help you recover financial compensation for:
Emotional Distress
Emotional distress is often a primary component of the damages sought in funeral home negligence cases. This recognizes the profound emotional impact which mishandling a loved one’s remains may have on grieving families.
You may qualify to recover financial compensation for the following forms of severe emotional distress caused by a funeral home’s actions:
- Mental anguish
- Grief prolongation
- Anxiety
- Panic attacks
- Depression
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Sleep and somatic disorders
Burial or Funeral Expenses
Our firm can help you recover compensation for funeral or burial expenses. This includes compensation for the costs of additional funeral arrangements or burials necessitated by the negligence of a funeral home.
Therapy or Counseling Costs
We can help you recover compensation for any past or future therapy or counseling costs necessitated by the negligence of a funeral home.
Medical Bills
If your emotional distress caused you to suffer a medical condition, or exacerbated an existing medical condition, we can help you recover compensation for any past or future medical costs that result.
Lost Wages
If your emotional distress caused you to miss time from work, we can help you recover compensation for the wages you were unable to earn as a result.
Wrongful Death
If funeral home negligence is connected to a wrongful death claim, our firm can evaluate whether surviving family members may be able to recover compensation for:
- Funeral and burial costs
- Medical bills your loved one incurred prior to passing
- Pain and suffering your loved one endured prior to passing
- The loss of your loved one’s love, companionship, household services, income and spousal benefits
Punitive Damages
We may be able to help you recover punitive damages if it can be proven that a funeral home’s behavior was reckless or intentional.
Statute of Limitations for Funeral Home Negligence Claims in California
The statute of limitations in California is usually two years from the date the family discovered or reasonably should have discovered the misconduct.
It is important to act quickly since evidence like facility records, cremation logs and employee testimony can be lost or destroyed.
Contact a mortuary lawyer as soon as you suspect negligence to preserve your family’s right to take legal action.
FAQs
Can You Sue a Funeral Home for Emotional Distress?
Yes. California courts recognize that surviving family members can recover damages for emotional distress caused by the mishandling of a loved one’s remains.
You do not need to have been physically present at the time of the misconduct to qualify to file a claim.
What Evidence Do I Need for a Funeral Home Negligence Case?
Key evidence includes:
- Contracts or receipts from the funeral home
- Written communications about services requested
- Documentation showing what actually occurred
- Photographs of remains, ashes or facilities
A mortuary negligence attorney can obtain funeral home records, cremation logs and employee records through the discovery process.
What Is the Difference Between Funeral Home Negligence and Funeral Home Abuse?
Negligence refers to careless or incompetent handling of remains. This can include losing ashes or cremating the wrong body.
Abuse involves intentional, deliberate or predatory misconduct, such as organ harvesting, theft or sexual assault of remains. Our experienced sexual abuse lawyers can help you if your loved one’s remains were sexually assaulted.
You may qualify for a claim in either case, so contact a lawyer today for a free case evaluation.
How Do You Sue a Funeral Home?
To sue a funeral home, first collect all evidence of negligence and service contracts.
Then, consult with a civil litigator who handles funeral home negligence or personal injury.
Do I Need a Mortuary Lawyer?
You do not technically need a lawyer, by law, to file a funeral home negligence lawsuit. However, lawyers possess many skills and resources which can be very helpful for you, and you are unlikely to receive a fair settlement offer if you do not have a lawyer.
Funeral homes and their insurance companies usually try to minimize claims. This necessitates aggressive negotiation by an attorney.
Proving funeral home negligence requires showing that a funeral home owed a duty of care, breached this duty, and caused harm as a direct result. It can be extremely difficult and complex to prove all of these things.
To pursue your legal negligence claim against a funeral home, families should first gather evidence of negligence, including witness statements, photographs and contracts. Evidence collecting for funeral home negligence cases often needs the subpoenaing of internal records as well as documentation from a funeral home. Attorneys can help you with the evidence gathering process, which may involve complex legal procedures.
Once evidence is gathered, families, with the help of attorneys, can negotiate settlements with funeral homes or proceed to trial when a settlement can’t be reached.
Non-economic damages in cases of funeral home negligence may include mental anguish and emotional distress, which are complicated to recover.
Access to an expert witness network, one that includes licensed embalmers and forensic pathologists, is critical for building a strong funeral home negligence case. Lawyers will typically have access to such a network.
Attorneys who represent families in cases of funeral home negligence typically have knowledge of mortuary science. They also typically understand industry regulations and standards. This knowledge is critical when a funeral home fails to uphold its duty of care and you wish to hold them accountable.
Many cases of funeral home negligence are subject to a statute of limitations. This often ranges from two to four years depending upon the state. Filing a funeral home negligence lawsuit involves compiling all documentation which is relevant as well as making sure the claim is filed within your state’s statute of limitations. A lawyer can help make sure a strong case is built and all paperwork is filed on time for you.
If you’re looking for a mortuary lawyer, keep in mind that attorneys should ideally handle your case on a contingency fee basis regarding cases of funeral home negligence. This means they only collect fees when they win the case.
Contact Our Funeral Home Negligence Lawyers Today
Call us today for a FREE consultation at (800) 718-4658 or contact us if your loved one’s remains were mishandled by a funeral home or mortuary.
We’ve been holding negligent parties accountable since 1990. We can help you recover financial compensation for emotional distress and more, and will charge you no legal fee unless we win your case.
