Family sues Philadelphia funeral home over claims staff gave unmarked box with son's brain

CBS News

3 days ago

A family has filed a lawsuit against a Philadelphia funeral home, claiming they mishandled their son's remains nearly two years ago.
According to the lawsuit, the parents of Tim Garlington hired Philadelphia-based Nix and Nix Funeral Homes and Georgia-based Southern Cremations and Funerals to have the body of their son, who lived in Georgia, shipped back to Philadelphia.
Garlington's parents said when they visited Nix and Nix Funeral Homes to view his body, they were also given his personal belongings that allegedly included a box with his brain inside.
The family is suing both funeral homes, claiming gross negligence over the handling of their son's body.
"To find out it was his remains was just overwhelming, even to this day. That they could do that. You rely on their professionalism to avoid this kind of situation. Tim was the baby, a good young man. This just doubled up on the fact we lost him," said Lawrence Butler, Garlington's father.
The complaint claims the box was never included in the list of items that belonged to their son. The family said they were unaware of what was inside, but they took it home and left it in the car. They later discovered what was inside when it began to smell.
"I got in my car, and I smelled death," Butler said. "I had to get rid of that car. I couldn't stand the idea that the remains were in that car."
The family's attorney said both funeral homes have yet to issue an apology, and there is no excuse for what happened.
"How devastating of a mistake that was made by both funeral homes, not only making a family suffer once but twice," said L. Chris Stewart with Stewart Miller Simmons.
A representative for Nix and Nix Funeral Homes tells CBS News Philadelphia that they had no responsibility for what was inside the box. The representative went on to say the funeral home has since been cleared of any wrongdoing by a state board investigation.
We reached out to the Department of State. A spokesperson said they could not confirm or deny the investigation. We also reached out to Southern Cremations and Funerals, but have yet to hear back.
As for Carlington's parents, the incident has them reliving their son's death over and over, but they say they came forward in hopes the lawsuit will help other families.
"We just pray that this doesn't ever happen again," Butler said.