T
he last thing we want to worry about when grieving about the loss of a loved one is the possibility that the mortuary, funeral home, crematory, or cemetery negligently handled the remains of the decedent. Although funeral home, mortuary, crematory, and cemetery negligence is not a common occurrence, when it does happen, it can be devastating to the family.
Fortunately, the California Supreme Court has recognized that mortuaries, funeral homes, crematories, and cemeteries owe grieving close family members of a decedent a heightened duty of care. This means that close family members of a decedent whose remains have been mishandled in a negligent manner can recover damages, including emotional distress from the funeral home, mortuary, crematory, and/or cemetery.
Mr. Kent has had extensive experience in representing families of decedents whose loved ones have been mistreated by mortuaries, funeral homes, crematories, and cemeteries in several States across the United States. Samples of the different types of cases Mr. Kent has handled include:
- Unauthorized commingling of cremated remains;
- Loss of cremated remains;
- Mix-up of cremated remains;
- Improper embalming;
- Failure to refrigerate remains;
- Excessive decomposition of remains;
- Negligent cremation;
- Improper burial; and
- Improper storage of a decedent before and after cremation/embalming.
If you or someone you know has recently experienced the devastating effect of the mishandling of a loved one by a mortuary, funeral home, crematory, and/or cemetery, we can help. Our experience allows us to handle these types of matters compassionately, sensitively, and yet aggressively, to bring just compensation to the grieving family members.