Imagine finding out that your deceased mother’s body was sent to the wrong country.
Now imagine getting that news while scrolling on TikTok.
At a glance:
- A New York City family is suing Rivera Funeral Home for sending their mother’s body to the wrong country.
- The family discovered the mistake through a TikTok video showing their mother’s body at a funeral in Guatemala, though she was supposed to be buried in Ecuador.
- The family claims the funeral home tried to cover up the mistake and initially denied the error.
A family in New York is suing Rivera Funeral Home after discovering that their mother’s body was mistakenly sent to Guatemala instead of Ecuador, where she was supposed to be buried next to her husband. Carmen Maldonado, who had recently passed away at age 96, was prepared for burial by the funeral home, but her children were devastated to learn through a TikTok video that her body had been sent to the wrong country.
The shocking discovery came when a video surfaced showing a family in Guatemala, who had been mourning their own loss, opening a casket to find the body of a woman they did not recognize—Carmen Maldonado. Her body had been mixed up with another prepared by the same funeral home.
According to the family’s attorney, Phil Rizzuto, the Rivera Funeral Home initially misled the family, assuring them that Maldonado’s body was still in Queens, New York, and giving excuses for delays in transportation to Ecuador. Even when the TikTok video identified Maldonado in Guatemala, the funeral home continued to deny the mistake. It wasn’t until the family showed the video in person that the funeral home admitted the error.
Maldonado’s son had to fly to Guatemala to retrieve his mother’s body and transport it to Ecuador, where she was eventually laid to rest according to her wishes.
The lawsuit accuses the funeral home of gross negligence, especially in their attempt to cover up the mistake. “A mistake is one thing,” Rizzuto said, “but to then try to cover it up is a whole other level of misconduct.” He added that if the family hadn’t discovered the error through social media, the funeral home likely would never have informed them.
The funeral home and the company that owns it are being sued, but they have yet to respond to requests for comment on the matter. The family is seeking justice for what they describe as a deeply hurtful and mishandled situation.