A New York City family is suing a funeral home for sending their mother's casket to the wrong country for burial.
Carmen Maldonado, who died after her 96th birthday, was scheduled to be buried next to her husband in Ecuador. Maldonado's children are suing Rivera Funeral Home in Corona, New York, alleging that their mother's body was mistakenly shipped to Guatemala, according to court documents.
“The family was completely devastated and in shock,” the family's attorney, Phil Rizzuto, told FOX News Digital.
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Carmen Maldonado sues Rivera Funeral Home for mistakenly shipping her mother's body to another country (Google Street View)
The family realized the mistake after seeing a video posted on TikTok showing a Guatemalan family being shocked to find a woman's body in a casket at their son's funeral. It was. The woman's body was identified as Carmen Maldonado.
Both bodies were prepared by Rivera Funeral Home.
“The funeral director made people believe that the mother's body was still inside the building in Queens and made excuses for why the transport to Ecuador was delayed. TikTok showed the Guatemalan woman was Carmen Maldonado. But it was hard to believe because the funeral home had given us different information,” Rizzuto said, adding, “The funeral home initially told her daughter Rosa, 'No, your mother is here. '', but they later denied it. When I showed up the next day and showed them the video, the funeral home admitted they had made a mistake. ”
Maldonado's son had to fly to Guatemala to take Maldonado back to Ecuador, where he originally wanted to go.
They were able to put her to sleep in Ecuador.
carmen maldonado family (Philip Rizzuto – Carmen Maldonado's family lawyer)
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“They minimized it and said it was no big deal. You know, it was just a mistake,” Rizzuto said. “They initially denied it and then didn't do much to rectify the situation.”
Carmen Maldonado's family is suing the home and the company that owns it.
“It's one thing to make a mistake, but trying to cover it up is a whole other level of misconduct,” Rizzuto said. I would never have told them. ”
The funeral home did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
