Losing a loved one can be extremely trying. Not only are you dealing with the emotional loss of a friend or family member, but you’ll also likely have to handle a variety of responsibilities in order to get your loved one to their final resting place.
When a funeral home or mortuary acts negligently and slips-up in their operations, the effects can be absolutely horrendous and make the entire ordeal even more painful.
If you believe you may have been the victim of funeral home negligence, then contact De La Garza Law Firm to learn more about your legal options. You may be able to pursue legal action against the party that harmed you, with the help of a personal injury lawyer in McAllen.
Proving Funeral Home Negligence
As in any legal claim, proving negligence is essential to developing a solid case. Funeral home negligence, in particular, can take on a variety of forms such as the misplacing of the body, late or inadequate embalming, or failure to maintain agreed-upon services or goods, among other errors.
When these actions occur as a result of carelessness or recklessness, they will generally fall under traditional negligence law.
In the State of Texas, in order to have a valid funeral home/mortuary claim, you will have to prove the following elements of negligence:
- Duty: The funeral home or mortuary owes the client a duty of reasonable care when handling the decedent for burial or interment.
- Breach of Duty: The liable party failed to meet the standard of reasonable care when handling, preparing, or displaying the decedent.
- Cause: This breach of duty caused you damages.
- Damages: Damages can include financial and emotional damages.
What to Do If You Are the Victim of Funeral Home Negligence
The Texas Funeral Service Commission is an organization designed to protect the general public from unlawful practices in the funeral and death care industry. The commission sets high standards for the professional and ethical conduct of funeral homes, funeral directors, embalmers, crematories, and certain cemeteries.
If you believe your rights have been violated, you may file a complaint by submitting a completed complaint form to the TFSC. Complaints generally need to be filed within two (2) years of the event.
Alongside filing a complaint, it is in your best interest to reach out to the Texas funeral home negligence attorney of De La Garza Law Firm. We can let you know about your legal rights and can represent you in your dealings with the funeral home, as well as any other party involved, such as insurance companies.
Additionally, we can help you collect the following forms of evidence, including:
- Proof of costs for funeral home expenses and other fees related to the negligence.
- Communication between you and the funeral home or any representative(s).
- Eyewitness or expert witness testimony who can validate the negligence.
- Additional paperwork and information that can prove negligence occurred.
Examples of Funeral Home Negligence
Funeral home/mortuary negligence can consist of a wide range of actions and failures that are unlawful. If you believe that you have been the victim of any of the following forms of funeral home negligence, then you have the right to seek legal recovery:
- Improper embalming of the body.
- Improper storing of the body.
- Cremating the wrong body.
- Losing cremated remains.
- Unlawfully harvesting organs for resale.
- Stealing personal property from the decedent.
- Failing to care for the body during transportation.
- Overcharging for burial procedures or services.
The experience of losing a loved one should not be made worse by the illegal and callous actions of parties who are should be adequately performing their duties. Should happen to experience this type of unjust treatment, consult the McAllen funeral home cemetery negligence lawsuit attorney of De La Garza Law Firm.
