REDFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) — A metro Detroit funeral home is facing some criticism after an employee mistakenly cremated a woman's body weeks before they were supposed to.
The woman's family is now taking legal action against the funeral home.
“I’m supposed to be at a viewing looking at my mom and I can’t," 20-year-old Saijae Hollis said.
She cannot say her final goodbyes to her mother Rhonda Hollis because she says her body was cremated weeks before the funeral she planned to have for her.
“The only thing that I signed off on was the casket and the funeral services for two days — that was it,” Saijae Hollis said.
Hear more from Saijae Hollis in the video player below:
She told 7 News Detroit that the visitation for her mother, who died unexpectedly on Nov. 23, was supposed to be Monday, Dec. 16. The funeral would come the day after and then, her mother was supposed to be cremated after that.
“We were hoping that we would be able to give her, her last homegoing and actually make sure she looked pretty and just send her off and the family could say their final goodbyes and we could cope from there, but it didn’t happen like that," Saijae Hollis said.
Instead, Saijae Hollis says her grandmother Kathy received an unexpected call from Fisher Funeral Home four days before the open-casket visitation was supposed to happen.
“We got the call on December the 12th that Mr. Mike Fisher had said that her body was cremated that day and I questioned him — how could her body be cremated when we didn’t have the service yet? And he stated that one of his staff accidentally had her cremated," Kathy Fisher said.
I confirmed with a representative from Fisher Funeral Home over the phone that Rhonda Hollis’ body was actually cremated on Dec. 4. The family was not notified until Dec. 12.
Fisher Funeral Home told us in a written statement:
“We are aware of some of the reports on social media and appreciate the opportunity to clarify the facts of what happened in this very unfortunate situation.
Because of a mistake, a person who was supposed to be cremated after a memorial service was cremated before the opportunity for loved ones to gather for a service.
We immediately apologized to the family and understand why they are upset. This is not reflective of the care that we provide to our community and we deeply regret that this has occurred.
We have served Southeast Michigan for nearly 70 years. Nothing like this has ever happened before nor will it again.”
The Hollis family says they are devastated by the mistake.
“I was just, I wanted to just hit the floor. I was mad, upset, I was crying," Kathy Hollis said.
“It doesn’t feel real," Saijae Hollis said.
They hired attorney Ivan Land to represent them.
"You cannot make a mistake when you are dealing with someone’s loved one that has passed away. Zero tolerance. You cannot make a mistake," Land said.
He told us he will be filing this lawsuit against Fisher Funeral Home on Tuesday.
They are alleging breach of contract, negligence, fraudulent misrepresentation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
“I’m hoping to have my family get closure. I’m hoping that we can figure out what happened to my mom in that time span of her being at the funeral home. I just want answers," Saijae Hollis said.
