Family Files $50-Million Lawsuit Against New Jersey Funeral Home for Placing Wrong Body in Mom's Casket

A family has launched a $50-million lawsuit against a New Jersey funeral home for placing the wrong body inside their mom's casket.

Central Funeral Home and Blackley Funeral Home and Cremation Services, Inc. are the respondents in the lawsuit filed by the family of Kyung Ja Kim, who died in November 2021. The Kim family claimed that they could not give their mom a proper sendoff because of the upsetting mistake in handling her remains.

During the church service for the deceased in Leonia, New Jersey, Kyung Ja's daughter Kummi Kim immediately noticed something was off. She informed the funeral home that her mom, who died at the age of 93, looked so much younger in the open casket. However, Haemin Gina Chong, the funeral director, assured Kummi it was her mom.

Relatives of the Kim family, some of whom flew from Korea to pay their final respects to Kyung Ja, remarked that the embalming technology in the U.S. must have gotten so good because her face looked young. The woman in the casket was also dressed in the traditional Korean clothes that Kummi's family provided.

The ceremony proceeded to the actual burial a few miles away in Valhalla, New York. But as Kyung Ja's body was lowered down the ground halfway through, Chong arrived to inform the family of their mistake. Kummi fainted, per ABC 7 New York.

"All of a sudden, it was wrong"

Chong showed a picture of Kyung Ja to the family. After confirming her identity, she ordered the grave workers to lift the casket out of the hole. Without saying another word, Chong rushed out of the cemetery with the remains. The family could not ask any questions or clarification since Chong "ran away," per USA Today.

The Kims drove back to the funeral home, where they confronted Chong, who finally admitted to the mix-up. Later, they discovered that the woman in their mom's casket had perfect teeth. Their mother's dentures were hidden under the pillow of the dead woman's head.

Succeeding arrangements were made to bury Kyung Ja's actual body the next day. They were also offered a refund, but Kummi said their initial preparations had been ruined by this mistake.

In the lawsuit, the Kims said they could no longer have a church service since the second burial happened on a Sunday. Not everyone from the previous funeral was also able to go because it was raining hard.

Kummi said her mother's actual sendoff was a "sad farewell," and it was not Kyung Ja's dying wish.

"We were so peaceful, and we were admiring her life," the daughter said of the first funeral with the wrong body. "All of a sudden, it was wrong."

No tag to identify the bodies

Chong explained that they failed to put tags on the bodies, thus the mix-up. Kummi does not know if the other family, whose deceased was Whaja Kim, is also filing a lawsuit against the New Jersey funeral home. She knew Whaja's family could no longer have open casket rites since her body had started to decompose.

The Kims are claiming several damages, including emotional distress and battery, per NBC News. If they win the $50 million, the family plans to donate the money to two churches Kyung Ja supported while she was still alive.