A funeral is meant to be a loving tribute to a loved one whose light is no longer shining in the world — a place to find solace and comfort during one of the darkest of times.
Sadly, funeral home malpractice and negligence sometimes occurs in Florida. And when it does, the family of the deceased has legal rights.
What is Mortuary Neglect?
Because of the strong sense of respect for the dead present in our society,
- Federal law
- Florida law
- and industry standards
regulate how the body of a deceased is supposed to be handled.
Mortuary neglect can include:
- Improper embalming or burial practices
- The theft of the deceased’s organs in order to sell them for profit
- Theft of items meant to be buried with the deceased
- Disrespectful handling of the body of the deceased, ranging from intentional mishandling to undignified conditions such as a lack of proper refrigeration
- Mishandling of cremated remains
- including mixing the remains
- losing the remains
- and not placing cremated remains in the location specified in the will
- Presenting and/or preparing the wrong body for a funeral service
Shocking as these examples may sound, each year, funeral homes lose their license to practice because of instances of mortuary neglect.
Court Cases against funeral homes
Florida law requires that funeral services be licensed and adhere to certain laws. One of them, for instance, is ensuring the correct carrying of the body. If that wasn’t the case, then you might want to consult a lawyer for funeral negligence damages in Florida. An experienced lawyer from Brooks Law Group will review your case and determine
- if there was any funeral home negligence
- and if you can take the case to court.
Can I Sue a Funeral Home?
Lawsuits have been filed across the United States against funeral homes that don’t follow the proper rules for handling a body after death.
Those with the right to bring a funeral home malpractice case to court:
- Surviving spouses
- Surviving children
- Surviving parents
- Those listed as entitled to the estate detailed in the will of the deceased
Often it comes down to the
- failure of a funeral home to perform the services that their licensure requires
- and a failure to honor the contract with the deceased loved ones.
Serious emotional damage can occur when a funeral home doesn’t do what a family has trusted it to do. And courts and juries often sympathize with the emotional pain that going through such trauma causes.
Prosecutors have commenced lawsuits in the United States over burial companies not having proper procedures to care for the bodies. Often it comes down to a Florida funeral home ‘failing to perform the services required in order to obtain their licensure and unable to honor the contract with the deceased family members.
Contact Our Attorney For Your Funeral Home Negligence Lawsuit Today
If you or someone you know has experienced a similar situation and feel negligence or abuse has occurred in a funeral home, mortuary, or crematorium; please contact our Florida funeral home malpractice attorneys. Call us to help you get the compensation you deserve so that you can find closure and your loved one can rest in peace.
