A New York City family has filed a lawsuit against a funeral home after the casket with the remains of their mother was sent to the wrong country.
Carmen Maldonado, who died just two days after turning 96, wanted to be buried next to her husband in a cemetery in Ecuador. Her children, who live in Queens, began making arrangements for her funeral in Ecuador with Rivera Funeral Home in Corona, New York.
While they were preparing for the funeral, they happened to see a video on TikTok about a family in Guatemala who received a casket with the wrong body. Maldonado’s children were shocked to learn that it was their mother’s body in the casket.
“I was devastated, I couldn’t believe that this could be such a big confusion,” Carmen’s daughter, Rosa Sicha, said, according to NBC News. “I started to cry, and I was incredibly upset.”
They reached out to the funeral home and were assured their mother’s body was still in Queens. The next day, Maldonado’s children went to the funeral home and showed staff members the video. After seeing the video, the funeral home admitted to their mistake.
“They minimized it, and they told them it was no big deal. You know, it was just a mistake,” the family’s attorney, Phil Rizzuto, told Fox News. “They originally denied it, and then they kind of did not do much to help correct the situation.”
Maldonado’s son had to fly to Guatemala to claim his mother’s body and then have it shipped to Ecuador, where she was buried next to her husband.
The family is seeking unspecified damages from the funeral home and the company that owns it.
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