LAS VEGAS, NEVADA: Las Vegas family is suing a funeral home for negligence after their loved one was “accidentally” cremated instead of being prepared for an open-casket funeral.
Loren Chavez, 41, was killed by her husband in a murder-suicide in September. Her family entrusted Davis Funeral Homes & Memorial Park with her body and planned to bury her at the nearby cemetery after a funeral service.
Who was Loren Chavez?
Chavez was a vibrant and cheerful woman who “would light up a whole room” when she entered, according to her older sister Delia Salcido, Law&Crime reported.
She left behind a son, parents, a brother, and a sister who wanted to say "goodbye to her and pray for her".
But when Chavez’s parents went to the funeral home to drop off clothes for their daughter, they were told she wasn’t in the system. They were asked to come back later because of an “emergency,” the lawsuit said.
The emergency turned out to be a devastating mistake
The emergency turned out to be a devastating mistake. An employee had mistakenly cremated Chavez, violating the family’s wishes and religious beliefs.
The lawsuit claims that the funeral home failed to follow its own policies and procedures that differentiate between bodies that are to be cremated and those that are to be buried.
The family’s attorney, Christian Morris, told the publication that the incident was “unforgivable” and caused the family “extreme emotional, psychological, and mental suffering and distress”.
He said the funeral home violated the family’s trust and robbed them of the hope that they can be together in the afterlife.
“This is something that should never happen, and there are so many checks and balances in place to prevent it from occurring,” Morris said.
“It’s unfathomable that this is just an ‘accident’ like they told her parents. Bodies deserve to be treated with respect and dignity.”
'It’s still a struggle to cope'
The lawsuit names Davis Funeral Home and Memorial Park, Legacy Funeral Holdings of Nevada LLC, and other connected companies as defendants. It seeks more than $15,000 in damages, plus attorney’s fees.
Mike Wilfong, general manager for Davis Funeral Home and Memorial Park, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that staff members are doing “everything we can” to rectify the situation.
He did not comment on the specifics of the case. Salcido told the Review-Journal that finding out about the cremation was like her sister being killed again.
She said the family still struggles to cope and wasn’t able to have peace. “It’s still a struggle to cope, and we weren’t able to have that peace to see her one more time and pray over her and have a place to visit her,” Salcido said.
