A grieving Missouri family is suing the funeral home that cared for their loved one's remains after they “accidentally” gave the military veteran's relatives his brain in a box.
Fred Love Jr.'s family has filed a lawsuit against the home, seeking more than $25,000 in damages after the mistake left the grieving family “devastated.”
Love, who served as a major in the U.S. Army and was a husband, father and grandfather, died suddenly after collapsing at his home in O'Fallon in September 2022.
As an organ donor, Love's body underwent tissue retrieval at Mid-America Transplant Services before being turned over to the St. Charles County Medical Examiner, with Baue Funeral Home providing embalming and transport services.
The family then received an urn containing what were believed to be the 68-year-old's entire remains, which were cremated after a funeral in October 2022.
A grieving Missouri family is suing a funeral home for $25,000 after they accidentally provided them with the brain of 68-year-old Fred Love Jr. (above) in a box
Eventually the family heard from Baue Funeral Home, pictured above, who confirmed that a “mistake” had been made.
At the same time, they also received a plastic bag containing the dead man's clothing and a “cardboard box that would have been lying around in the morgue.”
A funeral home employee said, “All of Fred’s remains were in the urn,” but it soon became clear that not everything was as it seemed.
During the family's six-hour drive back from the funeral home, a pungent chemical smell appeared to come from the box, which sat unopened in a garage.
At first, the family decided not to open the box because there was a biohazard label attached to the side.
Instead, they contacted the transplant center but were unable to provide any information about the contents of the box.
Eventually the family heard from Baue Funeral Home, who confirmed that a “mistake” had been made.
Love, 68, who served as a major in the U.S. Army and was a husband, father and grandfather, died suddenly after collapsing at his home in O'Fallon in September 2022
“You actually accidentally received a box from the funeral home that contained Fred’s brain,” an employee reportedly told them.
Sure enough, when they opened the box, Fred Love's entire brain was sitting in front of them.
Baue Funeral Home's director of nursing stated that “Love's brain was removed and embalmed separately from his body because he underwent a partial autopsy.”
The family is desperate for answers.
“Over a year after the events, we still wonder how something so shocking could happen,” the family said in a statement.
“Fred's death was devastating for the entire family…The actions that gave rise to this lawsuit made the experience of his death even more difficult,” they added.
“No one took responsibility for the brain being given to the family and not cremated with Fred.”
The family is suing Baue Funeral Home and Mid-America Transplant for negligence. A trial is scheduled for April. Both have denied any wrongdoing.
“We have standard protocols that we consistently follow throughout the donation process to ensure we respect the integrity and dignity of the heroic people who say yes to organ and tissue donation,” Mid-America Transplant said in a statement.
With the lawsuit, family members, who say they have been devastated by the experience, hope to gain some sort of accountability while preventing similar incidents from occurring in the future.
“Collectively, we have never heard of this happening to any other family, and therefore we are the only ones looking for answers,” the family said.
“We hope this lawsuit helps us gain some accountability and we hope it helps prevent something like this from ever happening to a family again.”
They claim that everyone involved appears to be shifting blame and refusing to take responsibility for the incident.
“I admit we collapsed, but I would say multiple systems failed,” Colby Hitchcock, director of Baue Funeral Home, told KMOV. “I won't take 100 percent responsibility.” “I'll take responsibility for our part of it.”