El Paso County Jury Awards $500,000 in Funeral Home Negligence
In January 2015, a man was killed in a car accident. His body was sent for burial services. Before the services, the family discovered the wrong body was in the casket. They filed a lawsuit for emotional distress caused by the mix-up. A jury found the funeral home responsible for the family's mental harm and awarded damages.
Case Information Updated: October 2025
Case Outcome
- Outcome
- Verdict-Plaintiff
- Amount
- $500,000
- County
- El Paso County, TX
- Resolved
- 2017
Injury & Accident Details
- Injury Type
- Psychological / PTSD
- Accident Type
- Other
- Case Type
- Emotional Or Mental Injury
Settlement Context
This verdict-plaintiff of $500,000 is above the median of $13,300 for psychological / ptsd cases resolved by verdict-plaintiff. The typical range is $11,515 to $500,000, based on 3 cases in our database.
Case Overview
In January 2015, a man died in a car accident in El Paso County, Texas. His body, along with that of another accident victim, was transported to a funeral home. At the direction of the deceased's father, a second funeral home then made arrangements to transport the body for burial services.
Just before the services, the deceased's family opened the casket and discovered the body of the other accident victim inside instead of their loved one. In March 2015, the deceased's wife and father, on behalf of themselves and the deceased's minor son, filed a petition in the District Court for El Paso County, Texas. The plaintiffs sought damages for negligent infliction of emotional distress, alleging that the initial funeral home was responsible for the delivery of the incorrect corpse.
After a trial in April 2017, a jury rendered a verdict for the plaintiffs, finding the initial funeral home 100 percent liable for the mental harm caused. The court subsequently entered judgment, awarding the wife $300,000 and the father $200,000 in emotional distress damages, totaling $500,000. An appellate court later affirmed the trial court's decision.
Understanding This Case
- This case went to trial and resulted in a jury verdict. Verdicts can yield higher awards but carry the risk of receiving nothing if the jury rules against the plaintiff.
- This case was resolved in El Paso County, Texas. Local jury tendencies, judge assignments, and regional economic conditions all influence case outcomes in this jurisdiction.
- Resolved in 2017, this case reflects the legal and economic conditions of that period, including medical costs, insurance practices, and jury award trends at the time.
VerdictlyTM Score
This outcome is within expected ranges
This score is calculated by analyzing injury type, accident details, geographic location, temporal trends, and comparing against 2,000+ similar cases in our database.
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