Is The Funeral Industry Really Facing A Grim Reality?

A review of state records, by The Boston Herald, has revealed more disturbing news about the already embattled funeral industry. All the recent news has many asking about the dark cloud over the business, that continues to grow larger over time.

In Massachusetts alone, the number of citations issued to funeral homes and funeral directors has skyrocketed over the last two years. Violations have included laws being disregarded, fraud, questionable accounting and mishandling the deceased. Over just the past twelve months, 54 disciplinary actions have been taken in Massachusetts.

In recent days, Massachusetts State disciplinary board has been investigating one firm, charged with burying two bodies in the wrong cemeteries. In addition to the wrong cemeteries, the wrong graves were used and family members say the funeral home attempted to conceal the mix-up. The Stanetsky Chapel, owned by Houston-based Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) calls the mishap a mistake and denies concealing the incidents. The funeral home is also a Dignity Memorial provider.

The dark side of the funeral profession has not only reared its ugly head in Massachusetts. Another funeral home owned by Service Corporation International In Boulder, Colorado was sued after dropping a casket at a funeral. According to news reports, the casket was dropped and the corpse fell out of the casket and to the floor in front of family members. Once again, SCI called it a mistake. This is only a couple of the many problems that Service Corporation International has been involved in. However, they are not alone.

Down in Florida, a funeral home employee was charged with sexually molesting a teen girl, after picking her up in the funeral home’s hearse. In Tennessee, a Knoxville area funeral director was arrested for raping a teenage girl. In Texas, a Pasadena funeral home was sued for a botched embalming, whenever a body arrived at the place of burial only to be found in a state of decomposition. In Louisiana, a funeral home director was charged with fraud involving preneed funeral funds, leaving many consumers losing their prepaid funeral and their money. One funeral director is blogging a personal memoir of the funeral industry’s dark side, which is expected to grow into a chilling, yet informative read. He has reportedly been getting financial offers to stop the blog. Again, these are only a fraction of the many scandals involving the funeral industry. It is leaving many to wonder is there an end to the scandals in sight, or is there an end to the funeral industry?