Downriver funeral home sued for allegedly cremating before an autopsy could prove cause of death
From the WWJ Newsradio 950’s website
A Wayne County family is filing a civil lawsuit in Wayne County Circuit Court claiming their loved one was cremated before an official cause of death was determined -- preventing them from getting a potential legal settlement for mesothelioma.
Being sued are Shawn Parcells, his autopsy company and Molnar Funeral Home in Brownstown Twp. The family of Richard Wahl claim they're one of hundreds who never received autopsy reports from Parcells.
Attorney Ven Johnson says Wahl was suspected to have died from mesothelioma, an asbestos-related form of cancer, and his family wanted proof. They contracted with Shawn Parcells, owner of Topeka, Kansas-based National Autopsy Services, to have a licensed pathologist perform a complete autopsy on Wahl to determine the exact cause of death.
"Parcells did not perform an autopsy and had Mr. Wahl’s body transported to Molnar Funeral Home, in Brownstown Township, where his cremation took place," Johnson said in a press release.
He added that Parcells, of Leawood, Kansas, has no formal medical education, but worked as a pathology assistant for Missouri’s Jackson County Medical Examiner’s Office from 1996 to 2003. He then opened National Autopsy Services, in Topeka, Kansas, where he provided private autopsy services, charging an upfront fee of $3,000, plus expenses, for a full pathological study and cause of death diagnosis.
Per Johnson, an investigation revealed that Parcells is under indictment for falsely leading the Wahl family, and hundreds of others, to believe that they would receive autopsy reports performed by licensed pathologists.
On Nov. 18, 2020, the U.S. Attorney’s Office-Kansas District, issued a wire fraud indictment against Parcells seeking to recover more than $1 million in fees paid to Parcells by more than 375 victims, who never received pathology, including the Wahls. If convicted, Parcells could face up to 20 years in prison, plus a fine up to $250,000 for each count.
The week of Dec. 14, 2020, [Sandberg Law Office, P.C. and] Ven Johnson Law, PLC, filed a civil suit in Wayne County Circuit Court seeking monetary damages against Parcells, his company, and the Molnar Funeral Home.
“Not only is this a blatant act of neglect, and preying on those who are grieving, Parcells has left our client, and hundreds of others, without medical proof as to the cause of death of their loved ones,” said attorney Sam Pietsch, of Ven Johnson Law. “The Wahls lost Richard and now have no chance of any financial compensation from a potential mesothelioma diagnosis.”
Click here to read the full article on the WWJ Newsradio 950’s website.
The family of Richard Wahl is represented by Mr. Sandberg with his Detroit-based co-counsel, Sam Pietsch from the law firm of Ven Johnson Law.