Funeral Directors can be held accountable for the actions or the inactions of their 3rd Party Provider if they have not practiced Due Diligence. What is Due Diligence? It is the review and inspection of a crematory’s internal operating procedures to ensure that the crematory handles cremations in compliance with established policies and procedures. Failure to practice Due Diligence is deemed irresponsible by a court of law. In this case scenario, you had nothing to do with what took place at the crematory, but you WILL be named in the lawsuit.
That is why you need to inspect your 3rd Party Provider twice a year and be sure the inspection is unannounced so you can witness exactly how they operate. If you don’t, you are already on the wrong side of the plaintiff’s expert witness, and the court. Right or wrong, you will, have to obtain legal counsel to defend the accusations levied against you, and that can become very expensive.
If you have a Due Diligence file on hand at your funeral home that will establish that you made the effort to inspect the crematory that you hired to perform your cremations which may help in the reduction of your liability, but you make no effort to inspect your 3rd Party Provider, that won’t sit well. The littlest mistake may end up costing you thousands in legal fees alone, not to mention the bad publicity that will be sure to follow from the press. It can no longer be business as usual. Inspecting your 3rd Party Provider costs you nothing but your time, but not inspecting can cost you plenty.
