Son works at a funeral parlor & nearly died fooling around in a coffin. Now they want me to pay?

Question

My 15 year old son works part time at a funeral home after school. He washes the windows, vacuums, dusts, etc… Yesterday my son another young employee decided to start fooling around and in a moment of non-brilliance, my son got inside one of the showroom coffins. The other boy shuts the top and cranks the air tight seal closed.
From what I understand now, these coffins do not "re-open", once sealed that is it. Anyway between my son scratching, clawing, kicking the inside of the coffin and the boy on the outside using screwdrivers, sledgehammer & crowbar to pry open the coffin it is completely destroyed.
The parlor owner now wants the other boy's parents and myself to pay for this $7,000 coffin. Doesn't the funeral parlor have insurance for such damage? Had they not destroyed the coffin my son would have suffocated in there.

Answer 1

If your son had accidentally damaged property while doing his job -- then fine, you would have a point. However, he wasn't working when he started screwing around and messing with the casket.

If he had been wrestling with his friend while working and had broken his leg, would you expect him to receive workman's comp? He wasn't injured doing his job, so of course not.

You and the other parent are both liable for the damage to the casket. They had no business climbing into it.

Now, onto another note that I haven't seen addressed yet in any of the answers, but also really has nothing to do with what you asked...

Did you not teach your son to NOT climb into things that can close on him??? Caskets can be just as dangerous as dryers, refridgerators, trunks of cars, and other places.

He's lucky he didn't die and you should all be thankful that it's only going to cost you $7000. Your son's life should be worth more than that. Hopefully he's learned his lesson and won't be climbing into other things. He might not be so lucky next time.

Answer 2

It's not likely the funeral parlor, but their insurance company that insists that you pay for the damage - and yes, you are liable for the damage since your son is still a minor. The boys should have been taught not to fool around. Sorry, but the best lessons are learned the hard way. Take the money out of his college fund, and when he graduates high school, take him the nearest recruiter and let him learn a skill while earning GI Bill credits for his future education. There should be a Marine Corps recruiter right down the street!

Answer 3

Oh my gosh, your right, he would have suffocated! That's hazardous work environment and them lame lazy ppl who can't clean their own house were negligent to not inform anyone they left alone there that the coffins don't reopen. Maybe they wanted to kill him bcuz they think you have money to pay for his funeral. Stay calm and don't get your revenge for their attempted murder of your son. Thank God he got out, and will always have a good story to tell. If they were paying him under the table or if he has pay stubs it'll make some type of difference. My guess is all employers are required by OSHA to have a safe working environment, not one unsupervised with death machines there, especially around minors. I'm sorry for the terrifying experience your son went through, tg he lived to tell about it. But the world is packed full of retarded employers and the only way to find out is 20/20 hind sight, get them for attempted murder, no employee compensation, unemployment benefits, etc. ALL kids left alone in a funeral place do the same thing. Call Geoffery Figer. But you just said the other boy shuts the top, cranks it closed, uses tools, pries it open, destroys it. My guess he is going after who ever's father appears more rich, or both fathers to see what he can get. He can't get no money unless you give it to him. He will have to take you to court and try, that's when your lawyer will get him for attempted murder. PS tell your son and his friend to always call 911.

Answer 4

You are responsible for him, not the store. As you say he did something stupid. When we do something stupid, we have to make amends. Teaching your kid that it's all OK because the insurance company will pay is very poor parenting. He should be made to pay 10% now out of his wages/allowance; and you should make him pay you the rest once he's at college or working - set up a payment schedule he can deal with.

You owe the company the money.

Yes, they might be able to get the money on their insurance; and then THEIR insurance premium goes up next year. Who should be paying, you or them? I think it's clear it should be you.

The only thing I would say is you should get them to show you the WHOLESALE invoice - what they pay for the replacement unit. You don't owe them a markup on the cost.

Answer 5

They should fire your son and turn in the claim to their insurance company. Unless you live in California or some other such "granola state" you are not responsible. Even if you decided to reimburse the funeral home, you do not owe retail which is what they're asking. Their $7,000 casket may have cost them $3,000 tops. I suspect a counter suit for failure to properly supervise child employees in a dangerous work environment would bring the funeral director around to a new perspective.

Answer 6

The funeral home probably carries insurance for ACCIDENTAL damage to their materials. What your son and his friend did was not an accident. I would think docking their wages for as long as it took to pay it off would teach a valuable lesson for life about respecting the property of an employer and "fooling around" on the job.

Answer 7

Sounds like they want to double dip. Send in a claim for the coffin damage to insurance company and get you to pay. Tell then NO. They will have to take you to court to prove you owe the money and by then you will be able to ask them for proof that they did not make a claim for the insurance money. The kids work there? as in they get paid and are paying taxes? No you are not liable for damages that take place on the job during work hours.

Answer 8

What ever happened to taking responsibility for your actions? He did it, he should pay. If not then what lesson will he learn? That Mom and Dad will bail him out no matter what he does? Make him work his little bottom off to pay you back and he will learn to respect other people's property.

Answer 9

Yes, but you are responsible for your son since he's a minor. And, it was their fault in the first place for playing around in there. If they take it to court, they will probably win.

Answer 10

You can reopen any casket....you do not need any tools except the same wrench that they used to lock it in the first place. Remember what they used to say..."If you break it, you bought it" ? Well he broke it.