Lawsuit alleges man’s body mishandled before funeral

Family members of a Houma man have filed a lawsuit, claiming that an organ donation agency and other businesses that handled the 53-year-old man’s body allowed it to decompose and forced them to have a closed-casket ceremony.

The suit says the body of Francis Toups Jr. was treated with a “callous disregard for its condition and the effect it would have upon the deceased’s relatives.”

Toups died on Sept. 16.

The family claims Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency in Metairie, among others, failed to properly transport, embalm and take other steps to preserve the body.

Others named in the suit, which seeks unspecified damages, include Limousines Limited in Crowley, which provides transportation services; Clark-Ducote Funeral Home in Belle Chasse; and Samart Funeral Home in Thibodaux.