My mom cannot be located in a cemetery where she was buried in 1975 can I sue the cemetery for negligence or something for not knowing where she is?

Well here's the rub. If you could prove that she was buried there then you would probably have a case. But to prove she was buried there you would have to show the purchase or deed for a plot. And if you could do that you would know where she was.

Now, if you do have such documentation and she is not where the documentation says she is, then you would have a nice case.

I know that my mother was buried there and the cemetery knows this as well.They just don't know where exactly.they gave me a general location,but not exact. What can I sue them for,negeligence,or what would the term be called to sue them for?

First, if you have a follow-up question or info please use the Answer options at the bottom of the page. Do not start a new question. I've merged your posts for you.

How do you know and how do you know the cemetery knows?
When you say they gave you a general location, how general?

Many cemetery's do not keep exact plot locations, but list sections. Depending on how many plots in the section you may have to just search. Do you know whether it's the cemetery policy to keep exact location's from more than 30 years ago?

If they have lost records they should have kept and the result is that you can no longer find your mother's gravesite, then you may have a case of negligence.

I do apologize for not doing that I am new to this and please accept my apology.I have been to the cemetery 3 years ago and they showed me the location as of where she my had been buried but did not know the exact spot.Today the gentleman from the cemetery came to my home and told me she was indeed buried there,but just didn't know the exact plot she is in the historian section where there are 10-12 more people buried there without headstones,I'm looking now to place a headstone for my mother since I was only four when she passed.Her parents are deceased and her brothers and sisters can't recall the exact location because they were younger than her when she passed.She was only 18 at the time.To make matters worse the cemetery told me today that I could just place one out there,but how will I know if I'm placing the stone in the right place and I just wouldn't fell comfortable.I talked to funeral home and they don't know either,they said they just have the deed number or something to that nature.Thank-You

You need to consult an attorney familiar with local laws about this. I don't know what the laws are about cemeteries keeping records. If the law does require that they keep an exact plot record then there was negligence. However there may be responsibility on your family to have purchased a stone at the time.

And, frankly, from my point of view I really can't see whether it matters all that much if you place a stone on the right grave or just near enough. A gravestone honors a memory, not the remains lying in the ground.

There are to be records, showing where she was buried, even some cemeteries 100's of years old have some level of records.

Also did they give you statement in writing that she was buried there, and not "what you know" but if I was sitting on the bench as a judge, what paper or witness can you put in front of me, to prove she is buried there, that is what you will need to do.

My fear, since we had that happen locally, one firm was actually not cremating or doing with the bodies what they were suppose to do, There were 100's of bodies not properly disposed of. Some buried together and others just thrown in a field.

I would ask, who did her funeral, who paid for the lot, there should be proof of a purchase unless she was buried by the state ( for people with no money)

Next who owns the cemetery? Were they the same owners back then ?

That was the legal side,

Now for the other, your "mom" is not there, all that would be left after 40 plus years would be perhaps a few bones or dust. If you believe in a after life, the "mom" is there where your faith believes in.

Thank you Chuck,but there is proof that she is buried there the cemetery informed me of this,they told me she was in a historical section but just didn't know exactly where she is.The funeral home said she was buried there,the funeral home told me they had some info. But it's the cemetery who is responsible for the plot of knowing exactly where she is,I don't want to just place a headstone and it not be in the right spot and someone else's family comes along and says well this is my familys plot.This is an outrage and something needs to be done,how will I ever know for sure.do you think this is cause for a lawsuit?

Chuck,this is very devastating to me.My mom passed when I was four and her brothers and sisters are younger than her so they don't know anything being that my mom was only 18 when she passed.The funeral home don't have the info of where she was buried but the proof that she was buried there.what type of a law suit can be filed?

You keep saying "there is proof" I again ask what type, what do you hold in your hands today you can give to a judge.

Remember if you are talking about papers the cemetery has, there is a risk it disappears as soon as there is a law suit,
Normally there will be a deed or title to the plot of land, and almost always the funeral home will have a record as to where they went and where they buried.

The issue with a law suit will be what is the cost to find out which grave ( if it is even possible) what methods can be done to find this out, what is the cost.

And then of course the possibility as soon as you start a suit, Poof, they will discover some missing evidence that says where it is ( of course they would have just made it up but it saves them the law suit)

Hello mrs:

If you sue the funeral home, they might mysteriously lose the proof... If it's not IN YOUR HAND, you have NO proof.

excon

That's the first question that jumps to mind. Mrs. Hogg keeps saying "the cemetery". A plot of land where bodies are buried cannot be sued. A cemetery association, or a city which owns the cemetery, might be suable.

Next: damages. I understand you are upset because you cannot locate the exact spot. This doesn't necessarily equate to money damages.

Then: duty: did the organization you are targeting have a duty to keep and preserve accurate records? What is the statutory or contractual authority for this duty?

Then of course there is a statute of limitations. If such a duty existed, and it was breached, when was it breached? Could well be years and years ago.

And duty to mitigate: It's been almost 40 years. How long ago did you first look for the grave?

Finally, I have never heard of a cemetery at which the locations of plots are established with the exactitude of normal land ownership, including a survey and metal stakes ("monuments") in the ground. By the way, it's interesting that surveyers call what they set "monuments". That's an allusion to "gravestones", which are normally used to mark the spot of a grave.

Thus, again, it seems that your mother's family was at fault for failing (evidently) to place some sort of a monument at the grave, and to visit the grave every so often to, among other things, see that the monument was still there and undisturbed. When my parents died (on separate dates), there were temporary signs placed at their graves. We were expected to get permanent gravestones and place them. It took us many years to do so, but in the mean time, we would visit the graves every few years to make sure the temporary markers were still there.