Cremation Liability Risk Managing It
The funeral homes were sued for negligence by all the families who had loved ones, 339 in total sent to be cremated at Tri-State Crematory between 1988 and 2002. Davis shared background on the case, portions of some of the documents and some of the rulings in that case. The plaintiffs in this case alleged that Tri-State Crematory failed to follow basic industry practices and acted in total disregard of human decency and the rights and feelings of the deceased families by improperly cremating bodies, commingling bodies in its custody and fraudulently returning to families non-human materials such as concrete dust. Davis described the crematory as “a very small room and the bodies were brought in by a gurney and had to be turned; the bodies were lifted up at one time by a hydraulic lift. In later years members of the family lifted and poured the body into the retort. “He went on to describe what was found when investigators descended upon the facility: “the crematory had body fluids on the floor and rust throughout the building,” said Davis. He asked “Are those red flags to funeral directors? Are those red flags to cremationists that maybe this crematory was not being operated correctly? Davis said that all cases involving the cremation whether it’s Tri-State the Bayview Crematory in New Hampshire or any future case will see the same allegations that the plaintiffs has in the Tri-State case. “There was. . . fraudulent concealment, negligence, intentional mishandling of a corpse and other,” said Davis. In his opening statement, defending the funeral homes, Davis argued that “what this case is really about is deception:perhaps the greatest deception ever. Ray Brent Marsh a fine upstanding person with an impeccable reputation in the community deceived everyone. He deceived the state of Georgia, but who did he deceive more than anyone else? You, the funeral home directors , the funeral home defendants. “Davis added, “what we intended to show was that even though Ray Brent Marsh was an independent contractor, that the funeral home defendants were as shocked as anyone. “Many funeral directors said Davis falsely believe that dealing with a third party contractor such as Ray Brent Marsh they are not liable for any wrong doing that there is a “gap in liability so they cannot come against me. “The federal judge in Georgia and Florida and nearly every state in the country has ruled that the funeral home “generally has no responsibility for a corpse committed by independent contractor but may be negligent for the liability of a contractor under certain circumstances. “The funeral home has a responsibility to the family. But funeral homes also need to protect themselves by having procedures in place, including as identification process and making all families aware of all procedures. Dais also suggested that funeral directors make unannounced visits to inspect the crematories they use. One red flag, he said is if the crematory provides pick-up and delivery. In both the Tri-State and the Bayview cases the crematory operator picked up and delivered bodies, precluding anyone from seeing the inside of the crematory. “When funeral directors would go to Tri-State unannounced they would find all of the barns were always under lock and key,” said Davis. “It should have seemed obvious what he was doing from these actions. “Another concern to the funeral director should be how the cremated remains are processed. “We finally developed testimony through Brent Marsh’s sister that they had a three foot steel rod and a four-by-four metal plate; the bones were raked into a tray and then they were crushed. In the early 80’s that was accepted as the standard of care. Now in cremation you have to have a processor to refine it down to less than an eighth of an inch so that it fits in a container. “Also he said that funeral directors need to make sure the crematory they are using is licensed, has operational records and proper authority under state law and that there are trained operators on the premises. Make sure there is a manual and it is being followed. “Ray Brent Marsh is a great excuse for you to charge more for cremation,” said Davis. “If you are going to charge more you better be prepared to do your due diligence. You can no longer rely on the certificate on the wall. “Investigate and use common sense explained Davis and look behind the scenes. Follow the steps and keep a checklist and it will keep you from being a defendant in another Tri-State Crematory Case.
If you or a family member have any further questions or concerns with respect to cremation, cremation services, cremation costs or a direct cremation please feel free to contact Cremation Options toll free 24 hours daily at 1-877-989-9090.