SAN DIEGO FUNERAL HOME ABUSE LAWYERS

Reasons to Sue a Funeral Home

Funeral home abuse can happen in many different ways, each one causing an already grieving family more pain and sorrow. Here is a list of some of the ways that funeral home, crematorium, and cemetery negligence can occur:

• Burying bodies in the wrong plots.
• Burying more than one corpse in one a single burial plot or coffin.
• Stealing valuables, other personal items, or body parts from the deceased.
• Charging for expensive coffins and switching them with cheaper ones.
• Switching body remains.
• Improperly embalming or storing of bodies.
• Cremation mistakes (cremating the wrong body, cremating without permission, etc.)
• Losing bodies or cremated remains.
• Fraud.
• Selling body parts.
• Breach of contracts.
• Improper or careless transport of bodies.
• Sexually abusing, mishandling, disfiguring, or mutilating bodies.

Is there a Code of Ethics for Funeral Home Directors?

Funeral directors are required to abide by a code of ethics. In 2004, the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) enacted the Code of Professional Conduct for funeral directors. The code outlines proper, ethical, and professional practices to which NFDA member funeral homes must adhere, helping to ensure the highest quality professional practices of NFDA members. The code also gives the public an avenue for filing complaints against NFDA member funeral homes that fail to uphold the code in any manner.

All NFDA member funeral homes are required to:

• Comply with all applicable laws and regulations.
• Deal fairly with funeral homes, suppliers, competitors, customers, employees, and other parties.
• Comply with all applicable antitrust laws.
• Comply with all applicable anti-discrimination and equal opportunity laws and regulations.
• Abide by all applicable employee health and safety regulations and laws.
• Comply with all applicable environmental laws and regulations.
• Protect the confidentiality of proprietary information entrusted to them.
• Conduct their business in a fair and honest manner and not engage in unethical, dishonest, or fraudulent business practices.
• Cooperate with NFDA in a timely, professional, and respectful manner in any investigations of possible violations of the Code of Business Conduct.

The code includes enforcement procedures that ensure action is taken in a fair and consistent manner. The Professional Conduct Committee was established to investigate and resolve complaints.

The Costs of Funeral Home Abuse

The funeral home negligence attorneys at the Law Offices of Samer Habbas are dedicated to obtaining justice for families that were treated unfairly or their deceased loved one was treated without respect. Our San Diego funeral home abuse lawyers are committed to assisting families in holding negligent and abusive funeral homes and funeral home directors to the fullest extent of the law.

Although funeral home abuse rarely produces physical injury, it can cause great harm, grief, and emotional distress to the family and friends of the deceased. A funeral home abuse attorney specializes in ensuring that perpetrators of these despicable acts are held responsible for the emotional damages they have inflicted.

If you or your loved one was neglected or abused by a funeral home, you may be eligible to recover compensation for:

• Emotional distress
• Loss of life’s enjoyment
• Funeral expenses
• Other damages

Damages in funeral abuse cases can vary greatly. It is imperative that you consult with a funeral home abuse lawyer so that you can recover everything that you are entitled to, which might be more than you think. For example, if you paid for a more expensive casket, and the funeral home buried your loved one in a cheaper one, you can not only sue to recover the price difference but also for damages as a result of emotional distress. If the funeral home or a staff member stole valuables from your loved one, you can sue the funeral home and the employee for the value of what they took as well as for damages for emotional trauma.

You may also be entitled to additional civil damages, which will depend on the details of the negligence that your family has endured.

What kind of Lawyer do I need to Sue a Funeral Home?

If you or your deceased loved one has been a victim of funeral home abuse, you have the option to pursue compensation in the civil courts. Most people are unfamiliar with how to navigate the court system or what exactly to sue the funeral home for, which is why it is important to have a lawyer on your side who has the experience in funeral home negligence that you need to recover for all the damages you have suffered. An experienced funeral home negligence attorney knows how to fight for you.

Most law firms these days have a website where they list their practice areas. Choosing the right funeral home abuse lawyer may be as easy as searching for one online. You might also want to consider a law firm that lists funeral home negligence, lost remains, or gravesite negligence on their website, depending on your particular case—like the Law Offices of Samer Habbas & Associates.

Call an Experienced San Diego Funeral Home Abuse Lawyer Today!

If memories of a deceased loved one have been tarnished by the improper conduct of a funeral home, cemetery staff, mortician, or funeral home worker, the San Diego funeral home abuse lawyers at the Law Offices of Samer Habbas & Associates can help. Our personal injury lawyers are dedicated to obtaining justice for the family members of deceased loved ones who were treated without care or respect. We believe that the aggressive pursuit of individual funeral abuse cases provides grieving loved ones with a certain amount of closure and provides an effective check on the funeral home industry.

If you believe that the remains of a member of your family have been mistreated, or that you have been a victim of the fraudulent activities of a funeral home, mortuary, or crematorium, call our firm to protect your family’s legal rights.

With multiple offices located in San Diego, Irvine, Anaheim, Los Angeles, El Segundo and Riverside, our funeral home abuse attorneys represent grieving families across Southern California. For more information or to schedule a complimentary consultation with an experienced San Diego funeral home negligence lawyer, please call 949-873-0755.