Two bodies were mistakenly exchanged at the Coimbra Institute of Legal Medicine on the morning of Thursday, October 30.
A family member of one of the deceased was “astonished” upon arriving at the institute to identify the body, realizing that the wrong individual was on the gurney.
The bodies had been switched. The person who was supposed to be identified by the family had been taken by a funeral agency, not in charge of this funeral, and was already at the chapel where funeral ceremonies had begun.
“The body for our funeral was already in the chapel and was next to be cremated,” one of the funeral agents involved in the situation stated. “It was not cremated by chance,” they added.
The involved entities quickly rectified the mistake by returning the body at the chapel to the institute and taking the correct one to the chapel.
Despite the confusion, the funeral for the second body, which was taken to the chapel, proceeded in the afternoon as scheduled.
The Coimbra Institute of Legal Medicine explained that on Thursday, by approximately 8:30 a.m., “a body of a deceased person was identified by the funeral agency representing the family,” in accordance with the protocol. “Following the identification, the agency took the body and released it to the family.”
Shortly after, “between 8:45 a.m. and 9:00 a.m.,” the aforementioned family member arrived to identify the second body. “At that moment, by 9:00 a.m., the identification error of the first body was detected, and by 9:20 a.m., the necessary steps and contacts were made.”
Only more than an hour later, by 10:30 a.m., did the first body return to the facilities, at which point “correct identification was made.”
“Regardless of the INMLCF [National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences] considering itself not at fault for the mistake committed, it was decided to open an internal investigation to ascertain whether the procedures applicable to the INMLCF were strictly followed“, the institute added in the same statement.
Typically, there are two ways to identify bodies: involving family members or their legal representatives, as used in this case, or when identification is not possible, through scientific methods such as fingerprinting, genetics, or dental records.
Notícias ao Minuto has contacted the Institute of Legal Medicine for further clarification and is awaiting a response.
