Funeral homes have a sacred duty to provide care for your deceased loved ones. When they do their job correctly and follow rules and regulations, their services can be a source of comfort for people moving through the grieving process. A good funeral home honors the life of the deceased.
But when funeral home providers fail in their duties and are negligent, it can create a uniquely painful and distressing experience for surviving spouses and family members. There is no way to remedy a botched funeral.
The emotional pain can be permanent. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t do anything about it. It’s possible to sue for damages to compensate for your emotional distress.
Regardless of your particular case, your best bet is to hire a Texas funeral home negligence lawyer with a proven track record of winning cases like these. They can guide you on the best course of action.
It’s important to get professional help because suing a funeral home can be a complicated process.
For example, are you even eligible to sue? What if your best friend was mistreated during the burial or cremation process? Or what if your uncle who passed was put into the wrong grave? Can you sue for damages?
These are relevant questions that need answers. To clear things up, we’re going to cover who exactly can sue for damages.
Then, we’re going to cover what your lawyer needs to prove in order to be awarded damages for emotional distress.
Who Exactly Can Sue a Funeral Home?
Even if you suffered a great deal of emotional distress at the hands of a negligent funeral home, there are restrictions in Texas on who can sue for damages.
Here’s who has the right to sue a funeral home:
- A Surviving spouse
- Surviving children
- Surviving parents
- Any heir in the deceased person’s will
Next, we’ll take a look at what your lawyer needs to prove in order to be awarded damages from a negligent funeral home.
How Can Your Lawyer Prove Negligence?
Your lawyer needs to prove:
- The funeral home owed a duty of care to treat your loved one’s remains respectfully and responsibly
- They failed to do so, resulting in a breach of their legal obligation to you
- Their failure directly caused you harm
- You suffered losses as a result
What Types of Compensation Are Available?
The damages awarded in funeral home negligence lawsuits vary from case to case. Everything depends on the specific losses you suffered. However, some common damages that are awarded include:
- Funeral Expenses
- Emotional Distress
- Loss of life’s enjoyment
- Punitive damages (intended to punish the funeral home and discourage similar behavior in the future)
Funeral home negligence cases are complex. Proving negligence requires diligent and thorough investigation, collecting evidence, and can include other complicated legal filings.
On top of that, you would need to have a complete understanding of case law to be able to determine the best strategy for your particular case. It’s difficult to quantify emotional distress. There is no way to measure pain that’s not visible.
Damages in these cases are awarded based mostly on prior case law, so it’s best to get experts on your side. That way, you have the best chance of getting compensated for all of the damages caused by a funeral home’s negligence.Don’t hesitate to reach out for a risk-free case evaluation to get started ASAP.
