Tragic Funeral Home Mix-Up: Family Receives Wrong Body

A funeral home in Sacramento is facing a lawsuit for mistakenly shipping the wrong body to the family of Francisco Quintanilla, who died last November. The family discovered a stranger’s body at the funeral, leading to significant distress and allegations of unqualified services from the funeral home.

In a troubling incident in Sacramento, California, a lawsuit was filed against a funeral home, La Paz Funeral Services, for allegedly shipping the wrong body to a grieving family. The family of Francisco Quintanilla, who passed away last November, had entrusted the funeral home to handle his remains for shipping to their home country of El Salvador. Quintanilla had emigrated from El Salvador, seeking a better life after the civil war, and he diligently supported his wife and three children from afar.

La Paz Funeral Services is known for catering to the Latino community and claims to assist with shipping abroad and embassy paperwork. However, Rob Marcereau, the legal representative for the Quintanilla family, expressed serious concerns, asserting that the funeral service exploited the vulnerability of grief-stricken families. On the day of the funeral, the family was gravely distressed to find a stranger’s body when they opened the casket meant for their loved one, which Marcereau described as “a nightmare.”

Upon notifying La Paz of the mortifying error, the family was instructed to return the unidentified body to the airport, but the funeral home reportedly did not know the whereabouts of Quintanilla’s remains. After two weeks, they finally located his body; however, the family was devastated to discover that it was in a highly decomposed state when repatriated to El Salvador. Court documents allege that the funeral home’s owner and staff lacked proper qualifications and cut corners in handling the case.

Marcereau highlighted the traumatic psychological impacts on Quintanilla’s family, stating, “Their final memory of Francisco is this horrifying image that they will never be able to erase.” Furthermore, the family has not received any refund for the services rendered, and their efforts to communicate with La Paz Funeral Services have been futile, adding another layer of distress to an already tragic situation.

This appalling mix-up by La Paz Funeral Services raises significant questions about accountability and qualifications in the funeral industry, particularly regarding the importance of maintaining trust and reliability when serving bereaved families. The Quintanilla family’s heart-wrenching experience illustrates the need for stringent standards and ethical practices in funeral services.

Original Source: www.whsv.com