Cemetery Workers Damaged Grandparents Grave

to99

Before Christmas I noticed spray paint on an empty space next to my grandparents grave and correctly figured that it was being marked for a future plot.

I took photos of this... assuming what was going to happen next...

And it did.

A few weeks ago a new grave was installed next to my grandparents and it

1. Dislodged the surround marble on my grandparents plot
2. My grandparents grave is now heavily subsiding to one side.

I have the orignal purchase (docket?) from 1978 but it looks nothing like a modern contract with limited liability etc etc.

Any thoughts on what to do?

costacorta

to99 wrote: »

Before Christmas I noticed spray paint on an empty space next to my grandparents grave and correctly figured that it was being marked for a future plot.

I took photos of this... assuming what was going to happen next...

And it did.

A few weeks ago a new grave was installed next to my grandparents and it

1. Dislodged the surround marble on my grandparents plot
2. My grandparents grave is now heavily subsiding to one side.

I have the orignal purchase (docket?) from 1978 but it looks nothing like a modern contract with limited liability etc etc.

Any thoughts on what to do?

Contact the company who did the work and n new grave and tell them they damaged your grandparents grave while doing the works .

elperello

Was it the opening of a new grave that caused the damage?

If it is an old graveyard it may have been opened by family/friends so approach sensitively.

If it was opened by local authority contact relevant Director of Services.

Dial Hard

Contact them, explain the situation and ask them to rectify it.

It's a fairly common occurance, I'd imagine, and they may well already have a reinstatement plan in place. You seem to be pre-empting an issue where there may well be none.

Hope it gets sorted.

to99

elperello wrote: »

Was it the opening of a new grave that caused the damage?

If it is an old graveyard it may have been opened by family/friends so approach sensitively.

If it was opened by local authority contact relevant Director of Services.

Yes, the opening of the grave that did the damage.

Thanks for the advice, had not considered the family angle.

to99

Turns out, the cemetery opened the grave but the family did the plot.

So, yes, it's going to be complicated.

elperello

to99 wrote: »

Turns out, the cemetery opened the grave but the family did the plot.

So, yes, it's going to be complicated.

When you say the family "did the plot" what exactly did they do?

to99

elperello wrote: »

When you say the family "did the plot" what exactly did they do?

They put the wood surround on it and put the wooden cross on it.

The cemetary dug the whole and filled it in.

beertons

I'd contact the guy who did your grave, he'd be more put out and have a good relationship with the care taker. I know my friend does the same type of work, I get the stories off him of similar incidents.

elperello

to99 wrote: »

They put the wood surround on it and put the wooden cross on it.

The cemetary dug the whole and filled it in.

beertons wrote: »

I'd contact the guy who did your grave, he'd be more put out and have a good relationship with the care taker. I know my friend does the same type of work, I get the stories off him of similar incidents.

I'd agree that having a word could sort this out without causing any bad feeling.

Unlikely that putting in a temporary surround and cross caused your problem.

It's more likely subsidence caused by the opening of the new grave.

longgonesilver

The other families undertaker might be another point of contact. Depending on what part of the country you are in, they probably employed the gravediggers. They probably know they did the damage but might not know who to contact about it.

Seth Brundle

I'd also be conscious that in order to repair the OP's grandparent's grave, it may require the recently filled plot to settle which could take six months.

coylemj

to99 wrote: »

They put the wood surround on it and put the wooden cross on it.

The cemetary dug the whole and filled it in.

By 'the cemetery', are we talking about the county council, the parish priest (church cemetery) or a commercial company?

It sounds like you have no axe to grind with the family who own that adjacent plot so I wouldn't bother them.

to99

coylemj wrote: »

By 'the cemetery', are we talking about the county council, the parish priest (church cemetery) or a commercial company?

It sounds like you have no axe to grind with the family who own that adjacent plot so I wouldn't bother them.

The best known cemetery in Dublin without naming names.

coylemj

to99 wrote: »

The best known cemetery in Dublin without naming names.

Which is big enough to employ it's own gravediggers. So you have no beef with the undertaker who handled the adjacent burial. It sounds like the ground was very wet after all the rain we've had and the grave next door should have been shored up after it was dug and prior to the burial.

January rainfall in mm recorded in Dublin airport ...

2021 115.1
2020 36.0
2019 26.8
2018 93.1

https://www.met.ie/climate/available-data/monthly-data

You'll have to take it up with the cemetery.