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Funeral Goes Horribly Wrong

Posted on | November 30, 2009 |

In a bizarre turn of events, a funeral went awry after a coffin that was being lowered into a grave broke open. Immediately after the mishap, the funeral workers that were lowering the coffin allegedly ran from the scene, so two family members jumped into the grave in an attempt to lift the coffin from the grave. At that point, the coffin allegedly crumbled because it was made from particle board that was stapled together.

In California, the aggrieved witnesses could recover under the authority of Christensen v. Superior Court, 54 Cal. 3d 868, 888 (1991), which provides in part that: “Once a mortuary . . . undertakes to accept the care, custody and control of the remains, a duty of care must be found running to the members of decedent’s bereaved family.” The case goes on to list the elements for a prima facie cause of action for negligent infliction of emotional distress. In the American legal system, money does not often compensate a victim that sustained a purely emotional loss. But I doubt any amount of money will sooth the victims’ troubled memories.

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