Kerrigan arranged a funeral for his son and spent $20,000.
Other family members flew in from out of state to attend the funeral. However, 11 days later, Kerrigan received a phone call from a family friend who informed him that not only was his son not dead, he was standing right there.
Kerrigan is suing the coroner’s office for damages that he suffered due to the false identification.
Cases of authorities mistakenly identifying a deceased person do not happen all that often. However, they do happen. Because they do, it is important that someone who knew the deceased person view the body and confirm the identity.
Families should insist on it.
