MIAMI – A South Florida family said they only discovered their loved one was missing jewelry on the day of her funeral.
"The worst part of it is that they stole rings off a dead person. It's despicable. Who would do that? It's difficult not knowing what truly happened," Michal (Ness) Cabrera said.
This is after the family said they had instructed hospital staff to leave their mom's rings on her fingers after she died following a procedure.
Heartbroken and frustrated, they called Local 10 News investigative reporter Christina Vazquez.
Vazquez contacted all parties involved and consulted with both legal experts and funeral industry leaders.
What she learned is that this is a tough case to resolve in part due to the hospital's own admission of "mishandled" patient paperwork, and because the family does not have an appraisal.
Experts said to never bring personal belongings to a hospital.
"As much as we want to trust human beings, you can't leave anything anywhere that you have any value for," former state and federal prosecutor David Weinstein said.
In the event jewelry does need to be removed, he recommends keeping those items in the care of a loved one.
A SUDDEN PASSING:
"Mom was the type of person who said hello to every person who walked by," Cabrera said. "She was a painter; she had a lot of grandchildren, that was her pride and joy, she enjoyed just being with us. I think most of all I am going to miss hearing her voice."
In March, Cabrera said her 67-year-old mother, Aliza Ness, was admitted to Jackson Health System's Jackson South Community Hospital for shortness of breath.
"They believed she had a mini heart attack," she said.
She said her mom was then scheduled for a cardiac catheterization.
"She had had that same procedure done a year earlier so none of us thought anything of it," Cabrera said. "She was happy, she laughed when I went to visit her. She just couldn't wait to get it over with. I still, till this day, don't know what went wrong."
Cabrera said her mom died following the procedure. According to her children, Ness was never without her rings, three in total, to include a wedding band.
The family provided pictures they said were taken in March 2015 when Ness was admitted to Jackson South.
"We specifically had asked the nurse staff to leave it on her, that was our request," Cabrera said. "When we all went to say goodbye I held her hand, I sang a song I used to sing when I was a little girl. I looked at the rings, because one of the rings I gave her. Secretly, I had hoped she could hear me. The next day we made funeral arrangements and we specifically said she should be buried with those rings because those were her rings, it was a symbol of her."
GRIM DISCOVERY:
On her left hand, Cabrera said her mom wore her wedding band and a ring she had given her that looked like a snake.
"It definitely stood out," Cabrera said.
On her mom's right hand was a band. Ness' son, Yaniv Ness, described the ring as "the black ring."
The band was a silver ring with blue and red hearts.
"You can tell from the pictures of the fingers you can't remove those rings. I don't know if it's because she had pudgy fingers; she just never took them off," Cabrera said.
"That Friday she was buried and we, just the family, had an open casket. We open up the casket and the rings were not on her. The funeral director came in, lifted up her hands and was just as surprised as we were."
In a police report, Tamir Ness told Miami-Dade police that "One of his mother's fingers appeared to have a cut."
"There was force that was used," Cabrera said. "I'm surprised they didn't cut off her finger."
The family provided Local 10 News a picture of Ness in a casket with what appears to be a cut on the finger visible in the picture.
"Who in their right mind would steal a ring off a deceased person?" Cabrera said. "It's wrong, it's cruel. Even if they misplaced it, somebody knows something."
SLOPPY PAPERWORK:
A review of Jackson Health System's policies, procedures, and paperwork reveals several missteps.
According to a police report, a nurse confirmed with police "that Mrs. Ness died with her rings on. She also verified that the rings were to remain on the body per the request of next-of-kin. She did not watch as the deceased was wrapped in the shroud."
The police report also includes a statement made by one of the nurses who wrapped Ness in a plastic shroud to be transferred to the morgue. In a statement provided to hospital security nine days after Ness died, police write in the report that the nurse said "prior to placing the patient in the shroud, he noticed a black ring on her right hand. He stated that the patient's son wanted the rings left on to be buried with her."
And yet, on the "Personal Effects Inventory Sheet" for Ness, signed by a hospital security officer, the box indicating "no personal effects" is checked. Across the sections for clothing, jewelry, and personal items in large handwritten letters is the word "none."
In the police report, the detective who spoke with the security officer who signed off on that document and said the security officer told him that he "did not notice whether or not Mrs. Ness had any jewelry on."
According to Jackson's policy and procedure manual on "Patient Valuables and Belongings," patients "insisting on keeping their valuables" must sign property list C-633. "If patient chooses to keep property, the admitting clinical staff will document items on the Property List (C-633) and/or Patient Valuables Record (A7026)."
Jackson's policy related to "Expired Patients" states:
"Non-valuables: Nursing is responsible to document the belongings on the Property List Form C-633 or its electronic equivalent. If jewelry cannot be removed from the body, nursing must document the item(s) on this form.
Valuables: A member of the unit staff will document valuable items on form A7026."
When Local 10 News asked for a copy of these forms to document the chain of custody of Ness' rings, a hospital spokesperson denied the request stating, "This is private patient information. We have no authorization to release private information."
According to Yaniv Ness, one of Ness' sons, those forms were "not completed."
A hospital staff member told the detective investigating the case that a Nurse Administrator-In-Charge (A.I.C.) is procedurally supposed to be present along with hospital security when a body at the hospital morgue is released to a funeral home.
The detective notes that the log book does not include a signature of "an A.I.C. present during the release of Mrs. Ness..I asked her if the absence of an A.I.C. is common practice," Detective Cortland Sprague wrote about his conversation with an A.I.C.
During a tour of the morgue he requested to witness how a stored body is wrapped, "and she responded that sometimes the staff is short and security may have to be the only one present. (It is to be noted that I observed missing signatures of A.I.C's on at least three other entries in the log)."
Meantime, the "Witness of Removal of Human Remains" for Ness appears to include the wrong date of death. While Ness died in March the handwritten date appears to read, "05/23/15."
THE OFFER:
In the Miami-Dade police report, a hospital risk manager is said to have, "admitted that the paperwork for patient property had been mishandled by the hospital staff and therefore JMH. was liable for the loss of the rings."
The hospital offered the family $500 per ring. According to Jackson's policy on "Reimbursement for Lost Patient Valuables" if "the hospital has acknowledged receipt of the property but cannot return it, the patient may be reimbursed in an amount not to exceed $500.00."
Almost a month to the day after their mother died, a Jackson Health System claims adjuster sent a letter dated April 24, 2015 to Tamir Ness offering their condolences and $1,500 to "resolve this dispute. The offer will remain open for 10 days from the date of this letter."
That letter also makes reference to a "thorough investigation regarding the matter of your mother's missing rings."
Local 10 News requested access to those investigative findings. Jackson Health System denied the request stating, "Pursuant to the request for our investigation and findings, this information is privileged and not subject to production."
The funeral home declined comment for this story.
In a statement, Jackson Health Systems told Local 10 News, "At Jackson we are committed to the safety and comfort of our patients, and our compassion extends to their families. This incident has been thoroughly investigated internally at Jackson South Community Hospital and by Miami-Dade Police. Though no evidence was found that implicated any Jackson employee in the disappearance of the patient's personal property, Jackson still offered the family $1,500 in compensation for the loss of valuables. This offer was not accepted. Our condolences go out to this family as they have lost a loved one and valued property."
THE THIRD PARTY AND "BEST PRACTICES:"
Miami-Dade Police Detective Sprague also interviewed the owner of the removal company who transferred the body from the hospital morgue to the funeral home.
It is stated that the removal company owner told police it is "common practice" to cut the plastic wrap "from top to bottom (head to foot)" to verify, identity and check for personal belongings.
"He justified the action by stating that his company cannot just take the word of hospital paperwork to make sure they are removing the correct remains," Sprague wrote.
According to the police report, the hospital's risk manager told police, "There is no reason for any removal company to breach the plastic wrapping."
Sprague later indicates in the report that the hospital security officer "confirmed that he was present during the release of the remains of Mrs. Ness. He also verified that the removal service driver did, indeed, open parts of the plastic shroud covering Mrs. Ness."
According to that security officer, "Removal employees regularly tear the plastic around the head/neck, hands, and lower leg area to check for property."
You may recall, the family said their mom's fingers appeared to have a cut.
Vazquez checked with funeral industry experts to include Michael Kubasak; the man who literally wrote the book on best practices for the funeral industry.
In "Traversing The Minefield – Best Practice: Reducing Risk in Funeral-Cremation Service" Kubasak writes, "Transfer personnel may need to unwrap the person and inspect the body for other tags before moving it." He adds, "Before moving the person to the transfer cot, inspect the body for any valuables or personal property. Complete a 'Personal Property Receipt' for each transfer. Ask for a witness to be present during your inspection."
Kubasak has spent decades in the funeral home industry. A licensed funeral director for more than 45 years, Kubasak operated his own funeral home in Burbank, California, for 35 years and grew up in the business.
"It is a standard of care to open the plastic shroud from top to bottom to verify (not identity) that all tags attached to the body are the same and to make certain there are no personal belongings on the deceased person," he told Local 10 News. "Failing to do this means transfer personnel operate outside the range of accepted professional standards and that they operate on the basis of assumption or conjecture."
After reviewing the documents pertaining to this case, which included the police report, personal effects inventory sheet, and Jackson Health System's policy and procedure manual related property list guidelines, patient valuables and belongings and expired patients, Kubasak shared his observations with Local 10 News.
"It appears to me that transfer personnel acted properly and responsibly, within the standard of care," he said. "In my opinion, and from the documents you have provided me, the rings disappeared somewhere at the hospital before the funeral home-transfer personnel arrived. In my experience, when a patient at a hospital insists that their rings remain on at all times, hospital personnel place tape over them. Was this done?"
Yaniv Ness told Local 10 News that staff did not place tape on the rings. He attributed that information to his brother who he said had a meeting with hospital staff.
Vazquez also consulted with Scott Anthony, the at-large representative for the National Funeral Directors Association. Anthony comes from a funeral service family. He currently is the co-owner of Anthony Funeral & Cremation Chapels with locations in Webster and Rochester, N.Y.
He also stated it is customary for a nurse to place tape over a ring.
"The funeral home or removal company staff transferring the deceased from the hospital morgue into the care of the funeral home would not remove the plastic shroud provided by the hospital until the body is in the funeral home facility," Anthony said in an email. "The only time that the plastic shroud is opened is to verify the deceased's name on the armband or the tag that is place on the deceased's toe. If there is jewelry indicated on the "personal effects sheet," some funeral directors will check inside the shroud to insure that the jewelry is present. I think that when valuables are indicated a visual confirmation is good practice."
"There was a weakness when it comes to the hospital following its own policies and procedures by their own admission," Anthony said.
He advises that jewelry be removed, given the number of people who are involved in the transfer of the deceased from a hospital's morgue to the funeral home. If they want a loved one buried with jewelry, he recommends family taking possession of the jewelry and then handing it to the funeral home director so there is no question about who has it and who had it last. He said then have the funeral home director sign a document indicating they now have custody of the jewelry.
Kubasak writes in his book, "Whenever you hire a commercial first-call company, you introduce an added level of risk…Hospitals continue to grow in size and struggle with budgeting, staff turnover, non-English-speaking or-reading employees, training issues and other human-resource issues. These challenges (and deficiencies) can also affect funeral service. The funeral-cremation provider cannot take anything for granted when making a transfer, even from the most prestigious institution…Every step in the chain of custody while handling decedents must be documented."
Local 10 News checked with the Florida Attorney General's Office, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and Florida's Chief Financial Officer. There are no complaints on file with state regulators for the removal company.
Over the phone, its owner reiterated to Local 10 News the statement made to police, adding that the employee who picked up Ness' body no longer works for him. He said he does not know his current whereabouts.
Vazquez searched for that former employee but people living in the apartment publicly listed as his home address said he has since moved out.
Sprague noted in his report that the former employee "had no local criminal history and no pawnshop activity."
DECLINING THE OFFER:
The family declined the hospital's offer, in part because they claim the rings are worth much more and also because they want to see someone held accountable.
"If they are looking for accountability they may find it by accepting the offer Jackson has made them," Weinstein said. "It appears Jackson has accepted accountability for it, admitted that they did something wrong procedurally. They are on the hook for it, not in a criminal sense but in a civil sense, because of their poor paperwork, because of the fact they didn't follow their procedures, by their own admission."
The offer the hospital made to the family in April has since expired.
Local 10 News has asked a spokeswoman if Jackson Health System would be willing to submit a new offer to the family. She said at this time they do not plan to make a new offer.
THE IMPORTANCE OF AN APPRAISAL:
In order to process a loss of jewelry claim, hospital policy is to request from the "patient or claimant:" proof of purchase, jeweler's appraisal or evaluation of item and any insurance document indicating coverage for the lost item.
Weinstein said this is a tough case in part because there is no evidence documenting at what point the rings may have gone missing and because there is no appraisal on file estimating the value of the missing rings.
"We need a witness or some type of evidence that shows they were removed by a particular individual," Weinstein said. "The other item that is missing is an appraisal for these rings, and without having to drag the family through what has already been a horrific incident for them, the death of their loved one and now missing personal property, without an evaluation, without an appraisal, it is going to be tough to determine what the value of the property was and that's another factor that you need to consider in both the civil case. If one is filed and a criminal case to determine whether it is grand theft, whether it is petty theft. Metro Dade is not going to place any handcuffs on anybody because they don't have enough evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that a grand theft was committed here, or even a petty theft was committed here. I know people are trusting, and I am not suggesting that we shouldn't trust people, but you have to put your trust aside a little bit and you have to do what's going to guarantee the result you want is going to be there and that would have been to take possession of the rings before mom went to the hospital or after they decided there was nothing they could do for their mother and just hold onto them."
HOLDING OUT HOPE
"So many different people handled the body," Cabrera said. "So somebody knows something. Yeah, we can't prove what the rings are worth, but the fact of the matter is somebody took them. It's frustrating. It's wrong. It's cruel. You know, even if they misplaced it. Somebody knows something."
For Ness' surviving loved ones, instead of being able to celebrate her life, the months since her death have been filled with outstanding questions about the missing rings.
Just as she watched after them, her children are now working to watch out for her.
"The worst part of it is that they stole rings off a dead person. It's despicable. Who would do that? It's difficult not knowing what truly happened," Cabrera said.
They are hoping someone with any information will come forward and have this message for other families in South Florida: "Think of all the people who bury their loved ones and have no idea their jewelry is not on them. Don't just assume someone is honoring your word, your request. It's not their loved one, it's yours. I want someone to take responsibility. Bring the rings back."
BY THE NUMBERS:
Local 10 News requested the total number per year of complaints regarding missing personal belongings for the past two years and present year to date for both Jackson South and Jackson Memorial Hospital. The numbers and notations below were provided by Jackson Health System communications director Jennifer Piedra.
Jackson South
2013: 19 complaints
2014: 12 complaints
2015: 5 complaints for the current calendar year up to 9/19/15
Jackson Memorial Hospital
2013: 96 claims
2014: 72 claims
2015: 20 for January to August
*The majority of these claims of missing items were items taken to secure prior to surgery/testing or were items that the patient chose to keep at their bedside and left them behind," Piedra said. "In most cases, the items are found; reimbursement is not a common process."
Follow Christina Vazquez on Twitter @CallChristinaTV
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