Funeral home negligence is more common than you may think. As a result, it is important to be fully informed and know your rights when it comes to burying or cremating a loved one. Read on for more information regarding funeral home and cemetery negligence in New York.
What Constitutes Negligence?
Most of the negligence that occurs in funeral homes is financial. Often, grieving family members are not paying close attention to prices, and are simply trying to follow the wishes of their loved ones. The following constitutes funeral home negligence:
- Disseminating false information about the necessity to embalm
- Deceiving customers about the availability of less expensive coffins
- Selling inferior, damaged, or shoddy caskets at high prices
- Substituting a cheaper casket at the time of burial than the one previously paid for
- Failing to send an obituary notice to a news outlet as promised, resulting in poor attendance at the funeral
- Failing to deliver the monument within the promised time period although there is a contract in place
- Dropping the casket or body while transporting it
- Improperly embalming or storing the body
- Losing the cremated remains or presenting the wrong remains to the family
- Mixing cremated remains of two or more bodies
- Burying the wrong body/ burying the body in the wrong plot
- Stealing personal property, such as jewelry, from the body
- Overcharging customers who don’t have the time or will to cross-check prices
- Burying an empty coffin
- Stealing organs from corpses and selling them
- Abusing a corpse
- Improperly disposing of a body
- Digging up a casket and reselling it
- Putting multiple bodies in one coffin
What Are my Rights?
You have rights when it comes to planning a funeral. These rights include:
- Bodies do not have to be embalmed
- You may purchase your casket elsewhere than the funeral parlor
- You may bury a body on your own property if you have a very large plot
- The funeral parlor is required by law to inform you that the body may be buried in a simple wooden or cardboard box rather than a casket.
What do I do if Negligence Has Occurred?
Losing a loved one is incredibly difficult. Unfortunately, there are some people who will attempt to take advantage of those who are grief-stricken. If you believe some form of negligence occurred, you will need to contact a skilled negligence attorney. You may be entitled to compensation.
Contact our firm today to discuss your case. We want to help you through this difficult time.
Contact our Firm
A personal injury accident can have a great impact on your life and your bank account. At Katter Law Firm, we believe that everyone should be held liable for his or her own negligence; you should not have to bear the burden of someone else’s mistakes. To learn more or to schedule a free consultation, visit us online or call us today!