Lawsuit against funeral home claims it failed to cremate woman’s body
A shuttered Las Vegas funeral home is facing a lawsuit from a man who claims it failed to cremate his wife’s body in a timely manner.
In a suit filed Wednesday in Clark County District Court, Jose Gonzalez alleges that McDermott’s Funeral Home and Cremation Services held his wife’s body at the facility for three weeks, and that she wasn’t cremated before its closure.
The Nevada State Board of Funeral & Cemetery Services revoked the license of McDermott’s in early August after alleging it had not cremated or properly disposed of eight bodies “within a reasonable period of time” and improperly stored bodies that were “leaking blood and bodily fluid,” according to complaints filed with the board.
In total, 146 bodies were recovered from McDermott’s and transferred to Davis Funeral Home, according to the Clark County coroner’s office.
Claims in Gonzalez’s lawsuit include breach of contract, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, gross negligence and negligent infliction of emotional distress.
Recent attempts to reach funeral director and owner Chris Grant have been unsuccessful.
Lawsuit details
Gonzalez’s wife, Dora, died July 17 at Henderson Hospital, the lawsuit stated. Dora Gonzalez’s hospice company recommended McDermott’s for cremation services.
On July 21, Jose Gonzalez and his son, Jeff Gonzales, entered into a contract with McDermott’s for refrigeration, local delivery, transfer to the funeral home, death certificate disbursement and concierge cremation. The indicated time frame for cremation in the paperwork was seven to 28 days.
Although, in the end, McDermott’s was not the one to cremate the body.
On Aug. 12, Jose Gonzalez was contacted by the Clark County coroner to inform him his wife’s body “had been removed from MCDERMOTTS facility due to unsanitary conditions” and had been transferred to Davis Funeral Home. Around two weeks later, on Aug. 27, Jose Gonzalez was informed his wife’s body had not been cremated.
Jose and Jeff Gonzalez were required to go to Davis to identify the body because it “had decomposed to a point where fingerprinting was no longer a viable means of identification,” stated the lawsuit.
Her body was cremated shortly after.
Jose Gonzalez is asking for unspecified damages in excess of $15,000.
Contact Emerson Drewes at edrewes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @EmersonDrewes on X.
