LAS VEGAS — A Las Vegas funeral home, recently shut down by state regulators, is now facing a lawsuit from a husband who claims the facility failed to cremate his wife’s body as promised. The owner of McDermott’s Funeral Home is accused of neglecting to perform the cremation within the timeline specified in their contract, which mandated completion within seven to 28 business days. More than six weeks after the woman’s death, her family learned that her remains had yet to be cremated.
Court documents reveal that the Clark County Coroner’s Office transferred the deceased woman’s body to Davis Funeral Home. Family members were called to identify her remains due to advanced decomposition that rendered fingerprinting impossible.
The troubles facing McDermott’s Funeral Home deepened last month when the Nevada Funeral Board officially revoked its license. State investigators discovered alarming conditions at the facility, including uncremated bodies and improperly stored remains. A total of 146 bodies were found on the premises and subsequently moved to Davis Funeral Home, supervised by the coroner’s office.
Families who entrusted their loved ones to McDermott’s are now in turmoil, grappling with uncertainty regarding the ashes they received. “If the bodies are not marked correctly, how can families trust that they have the right ashes? It’s a deeply troubling situation,” said Keline Baez, whose mother was among those handled by the funeral home. Another family member, Dorothy Duran, relayed the coroner’s unsettling remarks about the condition of the bodies they retrieved, describing it as the worst she had ever witnessed.
The lawsuit, filed this week, seeks over $15,000 in damages, citing breach of contract, negligence, and emotional distress. Chris Grant, the owner and funeral director, has not responded to repeated requests for comment regarding the allegations.
As more families come forward with their experiences, questions about the funeral home’s accountability and the regulatory system designed to oversee such establishments are growing. The case highlights the potential for deep emotional trauma when a business fails to uphold its responsibilities during such a sensitive time.
The situation underscores a broader concern regarding oversight in the funeral industry and poses critical questions about the protocols in place to protect grieving families from similar predicaments.
This story serves as a reminder of the importance of diligence among funeral service providers and the need for stringent regulation to ensure the integrity of their operations.
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