When families entrust a funeral home with the care of a loved one, they expect respectful and professional service. Unfortunately, some miss these expectations due to inexcusable carelessness.
Families burying a relative should know the many ways a funeral home could fail in its duties.
Mishandling of remains
One of the most distressing forms of negligence from funeral homes is the mistreatment of remains. A coroner might not properly refrigerate a body, leading to premature decomposition. Embalming must follow strict protocols that preserve a person’s appearance until the day of burial. Such mishaps cause immense emotional distress to families who wish to remember their loved ones exactly as they were.
Errors in funeral services
Negligence is sometimes present during the funeral service itself. For example, a funeral home might confuse the details of service arrangements, resulting in the wrong music or readings. In more severe cases, the funeral home might mix up bodies, leading to relatives attending the wrong service or the incorrect body being presented and buried.
Contractual violations
When families make arrangements with a funeral home, they enter into a legal agreement that specifies what the business will provide. If the company does not deliver these services as agreed, it constitutes a breach of contract. Possibilities include not providing the right casket, failing to transport the body to the correct burial site and conducting services on the wrong date.
Prevention and vigilance
To prevent such experiences, families need to select reputable funeral homes with positive track records. Asking for references, reading reviews online and talking with funeral home staff about their procedures and standards can help ensure that final wishes are respected and carried out with dignity.
Families must work hard to ensure their dearly departed receive the care they deserve. Awareness and planning are fundamental to preventing the pain of funeral home mishaps.