Flint funeral home shut down after state found maggots, un-refrigerated bodies

FLINT, Mich. -- A funeral home in Flint, Michigan has been shut down over health and occupational code violations after state investigators allegedly found maggots and un-refrigerated bodies in the facility's garage.

The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs suspended the establishment license of the Swanson Funeral Home, Inc. and the individual license of its manager O'Neil D. Swanson II.

According to the state, several investigations by state inspectors found unsanitary conditions and violations that included:

• Maggots on the floor of the facility’s garage and garage door.
• Un-refrigerated human bodies were stored in a non air-conditioned garage, some for more than 90 days and up to five months.
• The building smelled of decomposing bodies.
• Unsanitary preparation room without equipment or supplies necessary for embalming.
• Blood and fluid stained casket pillows were laying in the hallway.
• A failure to register as a “producing facility” and submit a Medical Waste Management Plan, under the Medical Waste Regulatory Act.
• Repeated violations of standards and laws enforced by the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration affecting the handling, custody, care, or transportation of a dead human body.
• A failure to register to sell prepaid contracts or maintain a contract with a registrant under the Prepaid Act.

“Michigan residents trust funeral home directors, owners, and their establishments to follow the law especially when dealing with the death of a loved one,” said CSCL Director Julia Dale.  “We will continue to aggressively hold every funeral home in Michigan to the highest standards of public health and safety when providing final arrangements.”  

Swanson could be subject to fines of up to $10,000 for each violation of the occupational code in addition to continued suspension or revocation of the licenses, as determined by the Michigan Board of Mortuary Science Examiners.