TOO-SMALL COFFIN MEANS NO PEACE FOR DECEASED MAN'S FAMILY; FUNERAL HOME SUED OVER HANDLING OF BODY.Byline: Janet Gilmore Daily News Staff Writer They said he would rest in peace. But when Josie Freeman of Sun Valley took one final look at her 6-foot-9-inch husband in a too-small coffin, she was horrified hor·ri·fy tr.v. hor·ri·fied, hor·ri·fy·ing, hor·ri·fies 1. To cause to feel horror. See Synonyms at dismay. 2. To cause unpleasant surprise to; shock. . Freeman and her family now are suing the Los-Angeles based Angelus Funeral Home, contending that the manager had assured her an extra-long casket was used to accommodate her extra-tall husband. ``She saw her husband's body lying in the casket with his knees bent to approximately a 45-degree angle, his legs crossed and his feet pushed up,'' according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. Superior Court. The case was back in court Monday as the Freemans' attorney and the attorney for Angelus battled over which evidence should be shared. The Freemans contend that the Angelus Funeral Home committed fraud, breach of contract and infliction in·flic·tion n. 1. The act or process of imposing or meting out something unpleasant. 2. Something, such as punishment, that is inflicted. Noun 1. of emotional distress emotional distress n. an increasingly popular basis for a claim of damages in lawsuits for injury due to the negligence or intentional acts of another. Originally damages for emotional distress were only awardable in conjunction with damages for actual physical harm. . The next hearing is set for June 11. The funeral home and its attorney could not be reached for comment. In court documents, however, Angelus maintains that much of the lawsuit should be thrown out because the Freemans have not provided enough evidence to support the claim. According to the lawsuit, Clarence Freeman died of lymphoma on Valentine's Day Valentine's Day: see Saint Valentine's Day. Valentine's Day Lovers' holiday celebrated on February 14, the feast day of St. Valentine, one of two 3rd-century Roman martyrs of the same name. St. 1997. His wife and mother found that other funeral homes couldn't provide a large enough casket for the 39-year-old technician who worked for the Family Channel. While shopping for the right coffin, the family was warned that some morticians ``break, bend, fold, cut or otherwise disfigure disfigure v. to cause permanent change in a person's body, particularly by leaving visible scars which affect a person's appearance. In lawsuits or claims due to injuries caused by another's negligence or intentional actions, such scarring can add considerably to the legs of tall decedents so as to force . . . decedents to fit into a standard-sized casket . . . too short to permit the decedent An individual who has died. The term literally means "one who is dying," but it is commonly used in the law to denote one who has died, particularly someone who has recently passed away. to rest and recline re·cline v. re·clined, re·clin·ing, re·clines v.tr. To cause to assume a leaning or prone position. v.intr. To lie back or down. with their legs straight out in front of them.'' Eventually the family was referred to Angelus Funeral Home. The Freemans contend the funeral home's manager boasted that they prepared the body of Bill Cosby's son Ennis Cosby for burial and placed him in an extra-long casket. Clarence Freeman's body, they said, would be handled in the same way. The family paid more than $5,000 for the coffin and other preparations, had a viewing of the body at Angelus and then shipped it to the Chicago area for funeral and burial near Freeman's mother's home. Following the funeral service in Illinois, Josie Freeman took a close look in the coffin. Shocked, she told her mother-in-law, who could not bear to look. The lawsuit didn't say whether Clarence Freeman was placed in another, longer casket. Clarence Freeman's young daughter saw a picture of her father's legs and ankles, criss-crossed in the coffin, and according to documents, she asked ``Mommy, why are daddy's legs like that?'' Mike Kubasak, a Burbank funeral director and spokesman for the National Funeral Directors Association, said morticians routinely cross the legs or ankles of too-tall bodies when a casket is too small. Funeral directors always should be honest with families about the coffins' limitations and the availability of better-fitting coffins, he said. Standard caskets can accommodate a body up to about 6 feet 8 inches, but anything over that becomes difficult, Kubasak said. Oversized o·ver·size n. 1. A size that is larger than usual. 2. An oversize article or object. adj. o·ver·size also o·ver·sized Larger in size than usual or necessary. caskets can fit bodies up to about 7 feet, but they cost 20 percent to 50 percent more than standard coffins, Kubasak said. Typically, people spend $1,400 to $1,900 on a standard-size coffin. According to the lawsuit, Angelus' general manager boasted of the home's integrity and asserted that at her funeral home: ``You get what you pay for.'' |
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