A South Carolina woman says she went to her mother’s viewing with more than 20 relatives, and what she saw in the casket led to a lawsuit

A South Carolina woman says she arrived at her mother’s open-casket viewing with about 20 relatives and found an unknown person lying in the casket, per a lawsuit reported by the New York Post. The suit targets Ocean View Funeral Home, a business in Horry County, and says she paid $13,820.55 for funeral services when her mother, 87, died in January.

Her mother was a devout great-grandmother, and the Post says church and music were central to her life. Before the viewing, the woman handed a funeral home owner an African outfit in black and gold, along with undergarments, a wig, a hat and a scarf, so relatives would remember her dressed as she looked performing with her church choir, the complaint says. The viewing was set for about 3 p.m. on January 30 at the funeral home’s Conway chapel, WMBF reports.

The funeral service was planned for the next day at True Worship United Pentecostal Church in Conway. When the family walked up to the casket, they saw that the person inside was not her mother but a stranger wearing the clothing she had supplied, according to the complaint. She told staff right away, and an owner allegedly admitted by phone to a mistake on the funeral home’s part. The viewing was rescheduled for 5 p.m. that afternoon, and relatives went back to find her mother in the casket.

The family wants a refund and damages

The woman says the experience caused emotional distress, mental anguish, depression, anxiety, trouble sleeping and post-traumatic stress disorder. She is asking for a refund of the $13,820.55 contract plus attorney fees and further damages that the filing does not put a figure on, and the Post and Courier reports the complaint lists breach of contract, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress. None of the allegations has been proven in court.

The case is a civil lawsuit in Horry County. Funeral service in the state is governed by Title 40, Chapter 19 of the South Carolina Code, and the Board of Funeral Service, part of the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, oversees licensed funeral providers. According to the department, known as LLR, it investigates complaints about regulated businesses, but it looks only at administrative and licensing violations, not civil or criminal matters.

After an investigation, the board votes to dismiss the case or move it forward for discipline, which can include fines, probation, practice restrictions, or suspension or revocation of a license. The person who files a complaint is not a party to the case, and the license holder has 30 days to appeal a board decision to the Administrative Law Court.

The licensing process is separate from the lawsuit, so a board decision would not decide the civil claims, and the court case would not decide the license. Requests for comment sent to Ocean View by the Post and WMBF had not been answered. The woman’s attorney declined to discuss the case with the Post and Courier.