Family spokesman Jerome Mika told Radio New Zealand many of the woman's extended family, friends and church family were not aware she had died from typhoid until a media release was issued the day after the funeral.
"I think the Ministry of Health have failed, not only the immediate family but the extended family.
"In terms of Samoan protocol, even for people not to be notified that the deceased had passed away as a result of typhoid, there were no precautions or anything to make people aware of that.
"From what I understand even the undertaker wasn't aware that the person had died of typhoid."
Coleman said media management could have been better.
"There are some issues in terms of the family's understanding of things, maybe some issues in terms of culturally appropriate communication, things like that, where I think wires may have got crossed along the way."
The regional health service only revealed the extent of the outbreak to the public on Friday, three days after the Mt Roskill woman died. Fifteen people had been hospitalised with the illness and were all members of a Samoan Assembly of God church which met in Mount Roskill but did not have its own building.
Two more possible cases were identified on Tuesday and were pending official test results.
Coleman has previously said there was no wider risk to the public.
"The advice I've had around this is that it's not a waterborne outbreak.
"Someone has come back from the Pacific Islands with the disease and then it's been passed person-to-person. That's the mode of transmission."
