Created: 3/27/2008 9:04:55 AM 
By Ryan O'Donnell WOAI/NBC News Channel
SAN ANTONIO, TX -- A Texas pallbearer says he was seriously hurt after he fell into a grave and the coffin he was helping to carry crashed on top of him. The injured pallbearer, Joseph Rivas, blamed the funeral home for the accident, which happened last February.
Rivas says the grave at Mission Park South cemetery in San Antonio was too big and that park workers tried to cover it up. While acting as a pallbearer for a funeral, Rivas says he stepped on a piece of Astro Turf that "collapsed into the grave." Then, the "coffin fell on top" of him resulting in "severe and permanent injury."
According to the lawsuit, Rivas says cemetery employees "failed to warn" him of the "dangerous condition" and claims the opening was "excessively large" and was "concealed by the Astro Turf."
The owner of the cemetery said he doesn't believe there was any wrong doing. He said they use a backhoe to dig the graves and can't image how this one would have been larger than any others.
The lawsuit doesn't explain Rivas' injuries, but does ask for his medical expenses to be paid, reimbursement for his lost earnings, and to be compensated for his physical impairment in the past and in the future.
The amount of money that Rivas and his attorney are asking for is being left up to the judge to decide.
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