A family from British Columbia is suing Service Corporation International and St. Paul’s hospital after, the family alleges, the hospital released their deceased family member’s body without permission to an SCI-owned funeral business. Jim Haliburton and Jackie Haliburton say that when their mother, Holly Haliburton, died at St. Paul’s on February 7, 2013, an overly aggressive employee at First Memorial Funeral Services picked up Holly’s body without permission after the family merely inquired about cremation pricing. The hospital, claim the Haliburton’s broke its own rules by releasing the body without proper signatures and authorizations.
Jim Haliburton provided a legal statement of facts, which can be downloaded and read by clicking the “attachment” link at the bottom of this article. The Haliburton family has a blog detailing their case at funeralwatchdog.com.
