Another grieving family is suing a Queens funeral home following a mishap that led to the wrong body getting sent to a family trying to lay their loved one to rest.
The family of Elder Emilio Garcia Umul paid Rivera Funeral Home in Corona to fly the body of the 39-year-old to Guatemala to be buried. However, instead of transporting their relative, the funeral home sent the body of a 96-year-old woman to the Central American country.
The body was of Carmen Maldonado, whose family had been preparing for her funeral in Ecuador, where she had requested to be buried next to her husband. But before the funeral, her family saw a TikTok video that shocked them: it showed Garcia Umul's relatives stunned to see Maldonado's body in the casket meant for him.
Both bodies had been prepared by the Rivera Funeral Home. On Tuesday, Garcia Umul's family filed a lawsuit against the funeral home.
The family of Maldonado, who died two days after her 96th birthday, filed a lawsuit against the funeral home and the company that owns it in Oct. 2024.
“I was devastated, I couldn’t believe that this could be such a big confusion," said Carmen’s daughter, Rosa Sicha. “I started to cry, and I was incredibly upset.”
Another family member had to fly to Guatemala and work with health department officials and police to retrieve Maldonado's body before bringing it to Ecuador to be buried. Both families said they had to go through great lengths to get their loved ones to their final resting places, about two weeks after they were initially set to be laid to rest.
When Maldonado's family asked the funeral home about the mix-up, they claim the funeral home denied it.
Both families are represented by attorney Phil Rizzuto, who alleged the funeral home can "prey on people" and said "it baffles my mind they are still in business" after the mix-ups.
"They tried to cover it up, and there is no excuse for that. And if the family did not see this on TikTok and confront them, the funeral home would have never told them," said Rizzuto said previously.
Neither the funeral home nor their attorney has commented on the matter.
