Carmen Maldonado’s (left) family claim that the Rivera Funeral Home owned by RG Ortiz (right) shipped her remains to the wrong country and left her to rot (Pictures: Google)
A funeral home allegedly shipped a grandmother’s body to the wrong country by mistake – and the family found out on TikTok.
When Carmen Maldonado died aged 96 on May 18, her family retained Rivera Funeral Home to send her remains to Ecuador.
After some time passed, Maldonado’s children were told by relatives that they saw a video on TikTok indicating that her body wound up in a different Latin American country, and was rotting.
Maldonado’s casket was shipped to Guatemala, which is about 1,400 miles away from the requested destination, according to court documents obtained by the PIX11 News.
Only after the family confronted the funeral home did they admit the mistake, alleges lawsuit filed in the New York State Supreme Court on Wednesday.
‘It is unconscionable how such egregious actions can take place. No amount of money is enough to hold the Rivera Funeral Home & RG Ortiz accountable for their mistake,’ stated the family’s lawyer, Phil Rizzuto, according to PIX 11 News.
‘They did not even notify the family of what happened. I cannot begin to imagine what the family was feeling when they saw this on TikTok.’
The suit alleges that ‘Carmen Maldonado was not properly prepared for transport and was carelessly sent to the wrong country while in the care and custody of the defendant, RG ORTIZ FUNERAL HOME, INC.’
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