Dallas Funeral Home Negligence Lawyer

Losing a loved one is always a time of grief and distress. At the same time that family members are mourning the loss of their loved one, they also face the task of planning and carrying out a funeral and burial or cremation. This is the last loving act of service toward a deceased family member. During this difficult time, family members of an individual who’s passed away trust the funeral home they’ve chosen to carry out the wishes of the close surviving family members or the predetermined wishes of the deceased individual. But what if the unthinkable happens, and an error or wrongdoing occurs in the very funeral home that you’ve entrusted with this final act of love for your family member?

Sadly, not every funeral home lives up to its obligations. If your loved one wasn’t treated with the care and dignity they deserved, you can gain compensation for the economic consequences as well as for your family’s emotional anguish. Call the legal team of Carew Garcia Bohuslav, PLLC, today for a free consultation so we can begin a legal strategy for compensation so you and your family can move forward from the loss.

Why Choose Us for Your Funeral Home Negligence Attorneys in Dallas?

At Carew Garcia Bohuslav, PLLC, we understand the deep distress families feel when their last act of service toward their loved one goes awry due to the actions or negligence of funeral home management or employees. Our compassionate Dallas personal injury attorneys will provide the following advantages for your case:

• Free confidential consultation and no upfront fees
• Over two decades of navigating negligence cases in Texas with a strong track record of success
• Detail-oriented attorneys who take a resolution-based approach to every case to negotiate as large a settlement as possible but are more than ready to litigate in court if necessary to secure your compensation
• Skilled trial attorneys with a wide array of resources and deep respect from peers in the Dallas area
• The individualized attention and compassion of a small-town firm with the big results of a large law firm

We treat our clients with the same care, respect, and results-oriented actions we’d give our own families. At Carew Garcia Bohuslav, PLLC, we understand the distress a family member feels when they’ve trusted a funeral home manager to live up to their obligation only to have additional stress and anguish added to their grief due to the funeral home’s negligence, careless actions, or willful wrongdoing.

Examples of Funeral Home Negligence or Wrongdoing

Most funeral homes in Dallas do their best for their clients, but sometimes mistakes, unethical actions, financial fraud, and other misdeeds make a family’s final goodbye to a lost loved one a more painful and distressing experience than necessary. Despite their compassionate tones and promises, some funeral homes fail in their duty to provide the best possible post-death care. The following examples of funeral home negligence cases in Dallas are startling and disturbing to anyone who has lost a loved one:

• Embalming errors leading to disfigurement or decay
• Improper care of remains
• Wrongful cremation
• Wrongful burial
• Damaging a casket
• Presenting the wrong body at a viewing or funeral
• Burying a loved one in the wrong casket
• Stealing personal property from a decedent
• Misplacing a body
• Misplacing cremation ashes
• Abusing a loved one’s body
• Charging family members for services they didn’t perform

In some cases, the negligence occurs at the cemetery with wrongful actions such as the following:

• Burying the body in the wrong plot
• Installing the wrong gravestone

Funeral homes, crematoriums, and cemeteries owe a duty to live up to the contracts they make with family members and to treat their deceased loved ones with respect and care according to the family’s wishes or the decedent’s pre-arranged requests. When they fail in this duty or an employee commits intentional misdeeds, it causes emotional distress for family members. It may also cause significant financial losses when families must take corrective measures.

An attorney from Carew Garcia Bohasluv is ready to advocate for your lost loved one as well as for family members when a funeral home fails in its obligation to provide proper care.

Who Can File a Funeral Home Negligence Lawsuit in Texas?

Texas law places limits on who may file a lawsuit against a negligent funeral home, crematorium, or cemetery. This limit keeps distant relatives, friends, coworkers, and acquaintances from exploiting the death and funeral home mistake for their own benefit. Only the following close family members may file a Dallas funeral home lawsuit:

• The surviving spouse
• A surviving parent
• Adult children of the deceased

Alternatively, the executor named in the decedent’s will or estate plan may represent the family in a lawsuit against a negligent funeral home. Any compensation they recover than goes to the decedent’s estate and passes to the beneficiary named in their will or according to the Texas intestacy laws.

Funeral Home Liability in Dallas Lawsuits

Funeral homes and cemeteries owe a duty of care to handle a loved one’s remains with respect, dignity, and care. If they breach this duty through negligence or wrongdoing and it causes significant harm to the loved one’s body or financial damages to family members, then the funeral home is liable for those damages and must provide compensation.

Damages in Funeral Home Lawsuits

A successful claim can recover compensation after a funeral home commits an act of negligence. Available damages include the following:

• Reimbursement of funeral expenses
• Property damage
• Lost wages if the incident caused a family member to miss work
• Reimbursement for any corrective actions the family took after the mistake or negligence
• Emotional distress

Punitive damages may also come into play if a funeral home’s employee or manager acts in a particularly egregious manner such as sexually abusing the decedent, committing serious financial fraud, or acting with gross negligence. Punitive damages act as a punishment to the wrongdoer and can significantly increase the size of the settlement or court award.

Call Our Dallas Law Office Today

If your family or your loved one’s remains have become the victim of funeral home negligence, call Carew Garcia Bohuslav, PLLC, today for a free consultation. We have deep compassion for the anguish caused by this egregious form of negligence.

Funeral Homes in Dallas

It’s always the best practice to research funeral homes and read customer testimonials and reviews—preferably during estate planning but even in the event of a sudden, unexpected loss. Dallas offers many funeral homes including the following: