California family sues funeral home after finding wrong body in uncle’s casket

A California family is suing a funeral home after it put the wrong man in the casket and dressed him in their loved one’s clothes, and workers even attempted to say the family was mistaken upon being confronted about the error.

Amentha Hunt says she arrived at Harrison-Ross Mortuary in Compton to prepare her uncle, 80-year-old Otis Adkinson, for burial when she noticed another man was inside the casket, according to KCAL.

Hunt said she brought the issue to the attention of a mortuary worker, but the worker initially dismissed her concerns and claimed that it was her uncle inside the casket.

Hunt said she and her family waited three hours while the mortuary fixed the mix-up before they could bury her uncle. It is unclear whose body was in the casket dressed in her uncle’s suit.

The funeral home has denied the allegations and is preparing to file a cease-and-desist letter against Hunt.

For more information see Landon Mion “California family sues funeral home after finding wrong body in uncle’s casket,” Fox News, May 19, 2025.

https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/trusts_estates_prof/2025/05/california-family-sues-funeral-home-after-finding-wrong-body-in-uncles-casket.html