Ohio County Pays Families After Wrong Child Cremated

COLUMBUS, Ohio – An Ohio county will pay more than $68,000 to families whose dead children got mixed up by the morgue, resulting in the wrong one being cremated.

Franklin County commissioners in Columbus approved the settlements on Tuesday, including $50,000 for the family of a 14-month-old boy who was cremated by mistake and against his parents' religious beliefs. The Columbus Dispatch reports another $18,500 will go to the family of a 22-day-old boy whose family wanted cremation.

An employee of the county coroner's office released the older child's body to the wrong funeral home, which performed the cremation.

The coroner fired the worker over the May 2010 error and instituted changes to prevent further, similar mistakes. Last month, the funeral home's license was suspended for six months.