According to an article and news video out of Cincinnati that you can see and read here a family will likely be pursuing legal action because, in their opinion, their mother looked like a “mess” when they viewed her in a casket.  The family contends that she not only looked like a mess, but a part of an ear was missing.

According to the article the deceased women was taken from the place of death on July 15 and not seen by the family until at least July 26.  Again, according to the article the body was embalmed during this time period.

The article states that the family paid the funeral home $ 4,400 and that would include the embalming, funeral, and graveside services.  The funeral home owner later said, according to the article, that there would be no balance due and he could offer the family a “half-off” tombstone.

The Ohio State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors is now looking into the case.

Funeral Director Daily take:  There may be more to this story than we get to read or see in the video.  However, on the macro side of funeral service it really brings up the old adage about “taking care of all families as if they were your own.”

I don’t have an answer for what families believe happened in this case, but it again brings out the pitfalls that can happen to funeral businesses on each and every person they care for.

When I operated my funeral business, I always felt that liability insurance would be able to take care of financial matters from a lawsuit, but the real potential loss to a business is the reputational damage that could happen.

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