Latest news with #mishandling
CNA
3 days ago
- Business
- CNA
About 56% of affected Cordlife customers accept refund offer over mishandling of cord blood units
SINGAPORE: About 56 per cent of affected Cordlife customers have accepted the refund offers made by the company after its mishandling of cord blood units. In a regulatory update on Friday (Jun 6), the private cord blood bank gave an update on the number of clients who have accepted its offers that were made in February and April 2024. The offers comprised a refund of the annual fees paid by affected clients from the onset of the "temperature excursion". For those affected, Cordlife had also offered to continue storing the cord blood units until their child reaches the age of 21 and to waive all future fees. When previously contacted by CNA in May last year, Cordlife declined to give the exact figure for the number of clients who had accepted the refunds. Its mishandling of cord blood units was first made public on Nov 30, 2023, when the Ministry of Health (MOH) revealed that investigations were ongoing. Seven tanks storing cord blood units were exposed to temperatures above acceptable limits. About 2,200 cord blood units were found damaged in one of the tanks, affecting at least 2,150 clients. In April last year, it was announced that another 5,300 cord blood units in a second tank and dry shipper were deemed "non-viable". Some customers are, however, continuing their legal action against the company. In a bourse update on the matter on Apr 1, the company said it had received on Mar 28 two letters of demand from lawyers acting for two groups of affected clients. One group is claiming for damages for breach of contract and negligence, while the other group is requesting for compensation for costs, among other warranties and undertakings from Cordlife. The company received its first letter of demand in May last year, while two other announcements were made in Aug 15, 2024 and Mar 1 on the same matter. In January, MOH renewed Cordlife's cord blood and human tissue banking service licences for a year, more than four months after it was allowed to resume its cord blood banking services in a limited manner. The company said on Friday it intends to host a series of townhall sessions - both in-person and online - to continue engaging customers to address their concerns. In a media invite last September, Cordlife talked up its new laboratory monitoring system to keep track of storage tank temperatures remotely and how it had hired more experienced laboratory staff and technicians to "elevate standards further". ACCREDITATION Cordlife added on Friday that it is also working closely with the Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies (AABB) and the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT) to restore both accreditations for its Singapore operations. In December 2023, it lost its cellular therapy accreditation with FACT. The suspension will last indefinitely, "at a minimum until FACT's investigations are completed and issues are resolved", Cordlife then said. AABB followed suit in August last year, with the international blood bank body withdrawing Cordlife's accreditation for the collection, processing, storage and distribution of cord blood. The company also provided an update on its Singapore operations, which were given the go-ahead by authorities to fully resume in January. "While collection rates remain below the company's pre-incident average, the full resumption of its Singapore operations represents an encouraging step forward in restoring client confidence and rebuilding operational momentum," it said. "The company has also strengthened and renewed its relationships with the medical community, particularly in Singapore. It has been proactively engaging hospitals, doctors, nurses and other stakeholders within the medical community to ensure they are fully informed on the company's rectification efforts and improved procedures," Cordlife added. Cordlife said it would continue to expand its outreach initiatives with the aim of returning to "pre-incident levels of performance" and would continue to update shareholders when there are material developments. For the financial year ending Dec 31, 2024, the group's revenue fell 50.4 per cent to S$27.6 million (US$21.4 million), with Cordlife primarily attributing the decline to the suspension of its Singapore operations. Its FY2024 revenue in Singapore was minus S$2 million, a steep reverse from S$24.7 million in 2023. NEW GROUP CEO In a separate bourse filing, Cordlife said it had appointed current group executive director Chen Xiaoling as its group CEO and Singapore CEO with effect from Thursday. The board said that it had considered Ms Chen's "proven track record" within the group as well as her qualifications, working experience, leadership capabilities and contributions. She will continue to serve as group executive director alongside her new roles, it added. Ms Chen was among nine people arrested earlier in connection with the mishandling of cord blood units. Non-independent non-executive directors, Mr Zhai Lingyun, Mr Yiu Ming Yiu and Mr Chow Wai Leong, Cordlife's chief financial officer Ms Thet Hnin Yi, the company's former Group CEO Tan Poh Lan, acting chairman Ho Choon Hou as well as independent directors Yeo Hwee Tiong and Titus Jim Cheong Tuck Yan were previously arrested and released on bail. In relation to a separate police report that was lodged by Cordlife's board of directors in April last year over "potential wrongdoings" of former employees amid an internal probe into why the cord blood units in one of the tanks were damaged, the company said it had not received any update regarding that case. "The company will continue to provide its full cooperation to the relevant authorities, as and when needed, for any subsequent investigations in connection with the police report," it said in a separate bourse filing on Friday.
CBS News
3 days ago
- General
- CBS News
More than 500 boxes of ashes from Chicago Heights crematory never made it to families
Hundreds of bodies cremated at the Heights Crematory in Chicago Heights, Illinois, never made it to their loved ones. The crematory was shut down after the CBS News Chicago Investigators exposed how bodies were being mishandled there. Now, there is an effort to find a final resting place for those whose bodies were cremated. When the State of Illinois shut down the crematory, they found more than 500 boxes lying in filth behind closet doors — each belonging to some family somewhere because they were filled with ashes of their deceased loved ones. Some of those ashes have yet to be identified, but the ones that have been identified are now ready to be picked up at the Cook County Medical Examiner's office. Cook County Chief Medical Examiner Ponni Arunkumar has been tasked with identifying boxes filled with bags of ashes, along with bodies which were found at Heights Crematory. The remains were confiscated and sent to the morgue after the state shut the operation down in March for mishandling bodies. Arunkumar said she had never seen anything like it before. CBS News Chicago has been investigating Heights Crematory since February, after obtaining photos of bodies mishandled and left stacked in dirty trailers in ways that violated state law. The photos showed bodies in sheets, and some of them contained bugs. "The mission of our office is to treat people with dignity and respect, and it's disheartening to see the condition of the cremains and the bodies," said Arunkumar. Dr. Arunkumar said her staff found some of the remains were decades old, but never got to their loved ones. Arunkumar also said some of the boxes containing the remains were very dirty. She got emotional talking about the condition of the boxes. "They were covered with mold and bugs, and we actually used specialty services to come in and kind of disinfect the boxes," Arunkumar said. Tabitha Mathis' mother, Patsy Hughes, died 15 months ago. Her ashes were among the boxes stored at the Medical Examiner's office. "It's horrifying to see her like this," said Mathis. "I have never cried so hard in my life." Mathis said Heights' owners ghosted her after she kept calling for her mom's remains, and then when she saw our CBS News Chicago investigation, a grim reality sank in. "And there's all these other people in there in a closet waiting to be claimed?" Mathis said. "It's disgusting. It's sad. I don't know how a human being could treat another human being like this." There are six boxes the county has not been able to identify. There were also 10 bodies that have now been identified. Investigators said Heights Crematory had names misspelled, and some lacked the required paperwork. A hearing is set for June 24 to determine if the license for Heights Crematory will be permanently revoked.
CBS News
22-05-2025
- CBS News
Attorneys say they've filed dozens of lawsuits alleging mishandling of bodies at Chicago Heights crematory
Attorneys say they have filed more than 30 lawsuits alleging the mishandling of remains at a Chicago Heights, Illinois, crematorium and connected funeral homes. The CBS News Chicago Investigators have been investigating Heights Crematory since February. Images at the crematory allegedly show how bodies have been stored in a dirty trailer while wrapped only in sheets — which is illegal. The trailer is located on the property belonging to Heights, and the photos also show the deceased people with their faces and body parts sticking out. Some of the photos show bugs. CBS News Chicago obtained the photos from a whistleblower. "We're seeking compensatory damage for the emotional trauma, for the grief of the family members that have been affected," said attorney Karen Enright of the law form Costella, McMahon, Gillrath & Murphy. When CBS News Chicago tried talking to Heights Crematory operator Clark Morgan about photos of bodies being stored in this trailer on his property, he refused to comment. CBS News Chicago later learned Illinois state regulators have warned Heights repeatedly about violations. Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza has shut down the Heights Crematory pending a state hearing in June. Adam Harrington Adam Harrington is a web producer at CBS Chicago, where he first arrived in January 2006. contributed to this report.
CTV News
22-05-2025
- CTV News
Woman receives wrong ashes from Chicago crematory after waiting over 2 years
A suburban woman was forced to wait over two years to get her mother's remains from a south suburban crematory that has since been shut down by the State of Illinois for allegations of mishandled bodies. All that Wren Williams has left of her mother and father, Paul and Betty Williams of Highland Park are two plastic bags of ashes. Both were supposed to be cremated at Heights Crematory in Chicago Heights. (WBBM via CNN Newsource) Warning: This story contains graphic content. CHICAGO (WBBM) - A suburban woman was forced to wait over two years to get her mother's remains from a south suburban crematory that has since been shut down by the State of Illinois for allegations of mishandled bodies. All that Wren Williams has left of her mother and father, Paul and Betty Williams of Highland Park are two plastic bags of ashes. Both were supposed to be cremated at Heights Crematory in Chicago Heights. 'I sent my mom to Heights because that's where she had my dad cremated in 2011 when he passed away,' she said. She wanted her mother to be in the same place as him. Betty Williams died in 2020, but Wren can't understand why her father's bag of ashes is over 1 pound lighter and smaller than her mother's, especially since he outweighed her by 60 pounds. Wren talked with the CBS News Chicago Investigators about the discrepancy after seeing our series of investigative reports exposing how Heights and its operator Clark Morgan are accused of mishandling bodies. Since February, Morgan has refused to talk to us about images of bodies stacked in plastic and body parts exposed in the dirty trailer on his property. Morgan is also accused of failing to process cremations in a timely manner. Bodies were found waiting to be cremated for months; one man found in the trailer had been dead an entire year. 'I just felt that it was complete neglect,' Williams said. Williams also had to wait for her mother's remains, despite continuously arguing with Morgan and his staff over the phone. 'I would call them and they would say they'd call me back, and they would never call me back,' she said. Ultimately, she had to wait two and a half years before she got her mother's ashes. She had to file an official complaint with the state to get the bag and an urn. She said Morgan never even got in trouble for making her wait so long, and now she wonders if her mom was just tossed in a trailer, too. 'That's all I can see, and I'm trying to, trying to place my mother somewhere in that chaos,' she said. For years, Morgan has gotten away with multiple slaps on the wrist by multiple state agencies for mounting violations, but his crematory just kept running. Williams says that's all indicative of a lack of oversight. 'Somebody has to be held accountable,' she said. It got even worse when a state investigator asked her to dump out and dig through her mother's ashes to look for a crucial piece of evidence: a metal identification tag. Each bag of cremated remains contains a metal tag with a log number on it, which is meant to match the person cremated. Betty Williams' tag did not match. 'Not my mom's log number,' Williams said. 'They couldn't even find her in the log.' And that led Williams to a painful but unavoidable conclusion. 'I don't have my mom, no,' she said. '[The ashes] belong to somebody else, another family.' 'It triggers an immense sense of emotional distress and trauma,' said attorney Jonathan Treshansky. Treshansky is filing a lawsuit against Heights Crematory on behalf of Wren Williams and her family. 'To this day, nobody knows where her mom's body is or where her remains are,' he said. 'Nobody.' Meanwhile, Williams is left feeling helpless. Article by Dave Savini and Michele Youngerman.
CBS News
22-05-2025
- CBS News
Suburban woman receives wrong ashes from Chicago Heights crematory after waiting over 2 years
A suburban woman was forced to wait over two years to get her mother's remains from a south suburban crematory that has since been shut down by the State of Illinois for allegations of mishandled bodies. All that Wren Williams has left of her mother and father, Paul and Betty Williams of Highland Park are two plastic bags of ashes. Both were supposed to be cremated at Heights Crematory in Chicago Heights. "I sent my mom to Heights because that's where she had my dad cremated in 2011 when he passed away," she said. She wanted her mother to be in the same place as him. Betty Williams died in 2020, but Wren can't understand why her father's bag of ashes is over 1 pound lighter and smaller than her mother's, especially since he outweighed her by 60 pounds. Wren talked with the CBS News Chicago Investigators about the discrepancy after seeing our series of investigative reports exposing how Heights and its operator Clark Morgan are accused of mishandling bodies. Since February, Morgan has refused to talk to us about images of bodies stacked in plastic and body parts exposed in the dirty trailer on his property. Morgan is also accused of failing to process cremations in a timely manner. Bodies were found waiting to be cremated for months; one man found in the trailer had been dead an entire year. "I just felt that it was complete neglect," Williams said. Williams also had to wait for her mother's remains, despite continuously arguing with Morgan and his staff over the phone. "I would call them and they would say they'd call me back, and they would never call me back," she said. Ultimately, she had to wait two and a half years before she got her mother's ashes. She had to file an official complaint with the state to get the bag and an urn. She said Morgan never even got in trouble for making her wait so long, and now she wonders if her mom was just tossed in a trailer, too. "That's all I can see, and I'm trying to, trying to place my mother somewhere in that chaos," she said. For years, Morgan has gotten away with multiple slaps on the wrist by multiple state agencies for mounting violations, but his crematory just kept running. Williams says that's all indicative of a lack of oversight. "Somebody has to be held accountable," she said. It got even worse when a state investigator asked her to dump out and dig through her mother's ashes to look for a crucial piece of evidence: a metal identification tag. Each bag of cremated remains contains a metal tag with a log number on it, which is meant to match the person cremated. Betty Williams' tag did not match. "Not my mom's log number," Williams said. "They couldn't even find her in the log." And that led Williams to a painful but unavoidable conclusion. "I don't have my mom, no," she said. "[The ashes] belong to somebody else, another family." "It triggers an immense sense of emotional distress and trauma," said attorney Jonathan Treshansky. Treshansky is filing a lawsuit against Heights Crematory on behalf of Wren Williams and her family. "To this day, nobody knows where her mom's body is or where her remains are," he said. "Nobody." Meanwhile, Williams is left feeling helpless.
