A
Pittsburgh family has filed a lawsuit alleging cemetery workers jumped
up and down on the casket of a family member in an effort to fit it into
a grave. The family members of Agnes Zimmick, who was buried at St.
Stanislaus Catholic Cemetery in Shaler in 2009, filed the lawsuit Monday
against the Diocese of Pittsburgh and Catholic Cemeteries Association
of the Diocese of Pittsburgh. “Frankly, it’s shocking this happened at a
Catholic cemetery,” said the plaintiffs’ attorney, Richard Sandow.
“You’re not dealing with lumber. You’re dealing with the deceased. There
were many jumps, shoves and stomps.” The suit alleges several of
Zimmick’s family members visited other family graves after her burial. A
short time later, the family said they saw cemetery workers jump “up
and down on the casket,” walk on top of the casket, and “repeatedly
[strike] said casket with poles ... to force the casket into place,”
according to the lawsuit. The family made their initial complaint to the
cemetery just after the December 1, 2009, funeral.
