Lawsuit is filed on the first anniversary of Foster’s death in the custody of Alabama law enforcement authorities
NEW ORLEANS, December 8, 2022 – Publicly traded funeral home company, Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE: CSV) failed to properly embalm and care for the remains of ex-National Football League player, Glenn Foster, Jr., according to a civil lawsuit filed this week in New Orleans. The suit, brought by Foster’s widow, Anny Pamela Foster, alleges that not only did the funeral home fail to properly prepare the body of the former New Orleans Saints player, but it also destroyed his brain without consent or authorization, in breach of the contract between the parties. DiCello Levitt serves as co-counsel with Ben Crump Law LLC.
Foster died on December 6, 2021, in the custody of the Pickens County, Ala. police department, while being transported in the back of a police car. His death came two days after he was arrested for allegedly speeding and resisting arrest in Reform, Ala., prompting his family to suspect he was having a mental health episode. The day before he died, a Pickens County judge ordered Foster held without bond and ordered him to undergo a mental health assessment. A year later, the circumstances surrounding Foster’s death remain in question, as the initial autopsy findings indicated that he did not die of natural causes.
“Mrs. Foster and her family have experienced so much tragedy already, and the mishandling of her beloved husband’s remains and destruction of his brain add insult to injury,” said Ken Abbarno, a DiCello Levitt partner and plaintiffs’ co-counsel. “The defendants in this case had one job to do, and their gross negligence and incompetence are nothing short of horrific.”
The lawsuit, which also names the local funeral home’s operator and director, accuses the defendants of improper embalming and handling, and improper storage and disposal of human remains, as well as negligence of funeral home hiring and supervision.
“A full year later, significant questions remain as to why Mr. Foster died in the back of that police car,” Abbarno added. “Pickens County still owes Mrs. Foster and her family answers regarding her husband’s death. That the family now must also contend with the mishandling of his body is truly heartbreaking.”
The case is Anny Pamela Foster v. Carriage Services, Inc., Carriage Services of Louisiana, Inc., Carriage Services, Inc. d/b/a Garden of Memories Funeral Home, Carriage Services, Inc., d/b/a Jacob Schoen and Son Funeral Home, John Appel, Jr., in the Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans State of Louisiana. A copy of the complaint is available upon request and the attorneys are available for media interviews.
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