Families sue Detroit funeral home after bodies were switched — and one was accidentally cremated: 'We didn’t get a chance to say goodbye'

Both Kimberly Moore and Sandra Miller died of cancer within 10 days of each other in early September. Moore’s family opted for an open casket funeral via Hutchison Funeral Home, with cremation afterward. But the Detroit News reported her body was cremated early and her family presented with “the remains of Sandra Miller, dressed in Moore’s clothes and wig.”

Once Moore’s family realized the mistake, the funeral home allegedly provided contradictory information about the location of Moore’s ashes.

Meanwhile, Miller’s family discovered their loved one was involved after contacting Moore’s daughter, Bianca Robinson, following media reports about the incident. Robinson provided a photo of the woman she was told was her mother. It was Miller.

“We didn’t get a chance to say goodbye, and I needed that so bad,” Robinson said at a press conference on Sept. 30. “This is devastating. I can’t sleep. We just want answers.”

A ‘truly unthinkable’ situation

A representative for the Hutchison Funeral Home said they’re “still conducting an investigation into how and why this happened” and are “looking at ways to improve and enhance any policies when it comes to identification.”

Moore’s ashes, meanwhile, have reportedly been sent for DNA testing.

And both the Moore and Miller families are suing the funeral home, with James Harrington, president and CEO of Fieger Law, which represents them, declaring, “The mistake is truly unthinkable” and “one of the most indefensible cases I have seen in a long time.”

Neither Fieger Law nor Hutchison Funeral Home responded to Moneywise’s request for comment, but Jessica Koth, of the National Funeral Directors Association, told Moneywise that after 20 years of working in funeral service, she finds “situations like this are extremely rare.”

Given no database for tracking the prevalence of funeral home mix-ups exists, April St. Onge, chief administrative officer of the Funeral Consumers Alliance, told Moneywise that, “typically, these stories are brought to light by the media.”

Those include recent stories such as the New York family who discovered a stranger in place of their deceased father, or the North Carolina family that buried the wrong person.

In 2024, an Illinois coroner reported up to 800 human remains might have been misidentified by a single funeral home. Another story about mixed-up remains at funeral homes noted that in Colorado, funeral directors didn’t even need a professional license until two years ago.

“Families place an extraordinary amount of trust in a funeral home when they place someone they love in its care,” Koth said. “Maintaining that individual’s identity and treating them with dignity and respect throughout every step of the process are among the most fundamental responsibilities of a funeral service professional.”

The Carey Leisure Carney law firm, which handles Florida funeral home malpractice cases, says body mix-ups can be a result of the misreading of identification tags, protocol failures during the transfer of the body or errors due to staffing shortages.

Funeral home lawsuits can yield up to a million dollars in damages, but the best way to ensure you and your loved ones rest in peace is to take steps to prevent mix-ups in the first place.

How to reduce the risk of a funeral home mix-up

The most important thing a family can do to prevent such mix-ups is to make sure the deceased’s wishes are in writing ahead of time,” St. Onge said.

She noted that if that isn’t done, the family should ask the funeral home to include “all of the disposition details in writing, along with the deceased’s identifying information” and then confirm the information before signing any contract.

As well, she said families can ask about the funeral home’s identification process and even request to “identify the remains before cremation, if they are comfortable doing so and if the facility allows.”

“Asking questions isn’t about mistrust,” Koth added. “It’s about ensuring you understand what to expect and feel comfortable with the care your loved one is receiving.”