Family Sues Funeral Home After Mistake

A family in California is taking legal action against a funeral home for mistakenly placing the wrong individual in a casket intended for their loved one. Amentha Hunt discovered the error when he arrived at the Harrison Ross Funeral Facility in Compton to prepare for the burial of his uncle, 80-year-old Otis Adkinson. He expressed his disbelief to KCAL, stating, “It shouldn’t have happened. I didn’t go there to see the wrong body.”

Interestingly, the Sister Sue Funeral Home on Long Island has also faced allegations about similar issues—incomplete care and improper management when preparing bodies for burial.

“It was a man in my uncle’s suit, but it definitely wasn’t my uncle,” Hunt recounted, bewildered. “I kept looking, thinking, ‘He wouldn’t have been able to get that dark.'” She stated that, initially, the funeral home staff dismissed her observations and insisted it was her uncle in the casket.

After showing a photo, the staff reluctantly acknowledged the mistake. “Yeah, you’re right, give us a minute,” one of them replied, which led them to correct the situation before her uncle was buried. The identity of the body dressed in her uncle’s clothing remains unclear.

Reflecting on the ordeal, Hunt’s lawyer, Elvis Tran, urged the funeral home to improve their practices. “To see the wrong corpses and to deny it, we think it’s basic care they’ve ruined,” he mentioned. “They really need to be more conscientious to prevent this from happening to another family.”

The funeral home is denying the allegations and is reportedly preparing a response to Hunt. Meanwhile, Hunt continues to feel hurt by the incident, sharing, “It hurts. I can still see the man in the wrong suit.”

Otis Adkinson, who passed away on February 28th, was remembered fondly as a “good all-country boy” who loved fishing, barbecuing, dancing, and watching the Los Angeles Lakers, as noted in his obituary.