In December 2006, my beautiful son Boyd aged 20 years, died in Staffordshire Royal Infirmary as a result of the injuries he sustained in a road traffic collision. Sadly, Nathan, the driver, Boyd’s partner and friend, died at the scene. I am still to this day unable to describe the pain I feel of my loss, and of course Boyd’s.

All that I had hoped for him, and I, have been snatched away, my life changing in a second.

I hang on to a faith/belief that my beautiful boy is in his spiritual home and without this; I don’t feel that I would be able to function at all.

 

Over weeks, Nathan’s mother and I waited anxiously for the liaison officer appointed to bring our boys belongings back from the crash scene. When he arrived, it transpired that the clothes Boyd had been wearing that evening were not there. I had wanted every last thing close to Boyd in his last moments.

Mid January 2007, I began enquiry with the hospital. Having been assured, that my son’s personal property would never have be disposed of? In February I was told some concocted story by a member of staff, to lessen the severity of their action, and told that it had been disposed of.  I demanded a full enquiry.

This enquiry is now closed, and I have been assured by the executive that its Trust has noted my concerns and will make the appropriate changes where necessary.

 

It was later ascertained in March 07 that the funeral undertaker that I had appointed to collect my son and conduct his funeral, had signed and taken receipt of my son’s property in a bin liner.

When I approached the funeral undertaker to question why he had not given the property to me, he claimed to have made a decision, an ‘unenviable decision’, and that he had made the choice to bury Boyd’s clothing beneath his body in his coffin as they were ‘heavily blood stained’? To this date I am unaware what was contained in the bag.

I was absolutely mortified, and I told him categorically, that it was never his decision to have made!

He had already failed in his service to me, which resulted in a long delay to be with my son again prior to his funeral, and I later learned that he had failed me in a number of other ways, and yet still I paid his account in full.

I was adamant that he was not going to get away with this!

 

Having telephoned Consumer Direct, who in turn passed me to Trading Standards (TS), I queried whether I could sue for personal injury. TS were not familiar with such an enquiry and asked that they get back to me. They later confirmed that, in their opinion, a breach of contract had been committed under the Supply of Goods and Service Act 1982, and advised, if needed, to take legal action through a small claims court. Beyond this, they were unable to assist. I have since learnt, that a ‘vulnerable’ consumer is considered to be someone who has a health problem affecting mobility, eyesight, hearing or frailty due to old age and the like. Vulnerable people are also those suffering learning disabilities. I was at no point asked if I suffered with any of the latter and I am truly amazed, that the bereaved are not considered in the definition of consumer legislation, that is relied upon by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), as ‘vulnerable consumers’?

 

Attempting to follow the protocol of the small claims track, come April 07,  I wrote the undertaker a letter, demanding to know what he claimed to have buried and what it were contained in, to further seek an apology. I requested sums of money to cover the cost of the coffin and chapel of rest as I believed these had been desecrated, an overpayment made by me and a sum of money for damages in considering the possibility of exhuming Boyd’s coffin. This was ignored. June 07, I made an application through the small claims track at court.

Ignorantly, I thought that I could bring a case to court, tell the judge what the funeral undertaker had allegedly done and hoped if successful, that the judge would order the undertaker to make an apology and to further order him to tell me what lie beneath my son in his coffin and what the property was contained in? I had kept my claim small as I had wanted to show the court that this was not about monetary gain. Big mistake, on my part!

It is apparent, that courts are only interested in the sum that the claimant believes is valid, and whilst no sum of money could compensate the added distress brought to me, in hindsight, I wish I had made a claim for personal injury and sued for many thousands of pounds to diminish funds of a business for the distress that I continue to suffer. May I add at this point, that a personal injury claim could prove more difficult to make, as I have been advised by specialist solicitors that it is very difficult to prove the distress caused by such an action, given that one is already grieving. This is another area of English law, that I have reservations about.

 

Prior to making an application to court, I had been advised by the CLS and Legal Service Commission that I could not gain public funding for Damages for Breach of Contract. Equally it is not within their capacity to advise on this area of law and only advise in relation to debt, housing issues etc. I believe that this gives a false impression that contract law was not publically funded?

I have since raised this issue with the Ministry of Justice outlining my complaint and the department has since commented that Damages was not excluded from public funding, but evident to me, that despite contacting many solicitors in Milton Keynes, none were able to assist me in this area of law with public funding.

It has also been suggested that in order to attain public funding, consideration would have only come into practice if the claim was in excess of £5000-00?

Having not been able to have gained professional legal advice at the outset of my claim, I sense that this had limited my discussion to the avenues open to me, and pursuing my claim to a hopeful successful outcome, with a decision made by a Judge?

 

I had need to independently prepare my own case and represent myself at court. I was up against Barristers on two occasions. This can be a very nerve wracking experience, especially whilst trying to come to terms with my son’s sudden death. Although one is expected to act independently in a small claims track, one can appoint solicitors and barristers, should they wish to. (Please refer to my section of example breach).

The judge had equated my claim for damages for breach of contract, to that of a famous holiday case of precedence, Jarvis v Swan Tours. This case was in relation to a guy that sued for damages for breach of contract, as his holiday had not been as expected (never got his marshmallow and yodeller apparently)?

Although I can equate my circumstance to that of a journey, I personally do not feel that one can equate a violation of my son’s coffin, or failure to act resulting in a delay in collecting my son, to that of a holiday? I am also of the opinion, given that as there is not a case of precedence to equate my experience to, suggests to me, that others do not pursue damages via the court process, for this area of purchase?

My first applications were unsuccessful and were eventually, struck out with no prospect of success but with options. I applied to have the case set aside and eventually, managed to gain legal help outside of Milton Keynes, to draft a correct particular of claim and get the case restored at court.

The defence was asked to prepare a new defence and given the history of my previous, unsuccessful applications to court, afforded the defendant costs against me.

I was then approached by solicitors representing the defence, with an out of court settlement. My legal help had long expired, but outside of this, my solicitor advised me to accept the offer as I would not gain any further public funding for help or to proceed to trial. The costs have now been relinquished along with a small settlement figure which I have accepted, but an apology was not forth coming and I refused to sign a confidentiality clause, as was requested of me.

The Milton Keynes Citizen News, reported (2007) http://www.miltonkeynes.co.uk/news/Grieving-mum-wins-her-battle.3621744.jp I can’t say it felt like I had won. It does not take away the fact that my son has been laid to rest, in a manner not pleasing to myself, that I recall each waking day.

 

I have very quickly learnt, that in order to attain justice, one needs to know how to play the game, as this is what it is, a game of rules, and if one is below the average income, such as I, with no means to appoint solicitors and barristers, then to bring a claim for Damages for Breach of Contract, can prove to be a difficult task.

I feel fairly confident that I cannot be the only person that has ever had distress caused to them by a funeral undertaker or anyone connected to the funeral industry, in fact I know that I am not!

 

Having also followed a line of enquiry to the coroner’s office that handled matters for me, an assistant expressed that the mortuary, dispose of belongings all the time?

I have had discussions on these issues with a charity called Disaster Action http://www.disasteraction.org.uk/support/da_guide05.htm whose members are survivors and bereaved from major disasters. Their website contains a series of leaflets entitled ‘When Disaster Strikes’, one of which is called The Return of Personal Property, which contains information on good practice and the people’s rights. Disaster Action act as an advocacy and advisory service to central government, the police, local authorities, the coroner’s service, the voluntary agencies and others concerning people’s needs in the aftermath of disaster. While mine is an individual case, the same principles apply. Disaster Action and other contacts are raising the issue with those involved in the training of police family liaison officers, as well as with the coroners’ service.

Please be mindful of the fact, that no one other than you is able to throw away belongings of the deceased, that maybe rightfully yours.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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