A funeral intended as a loving memorial for a South Gate father took a horrific turn when family members approached the coffin and found him in a grotesque and extreme state of decay, relatives allege in a lawsuit.
Santos Ramos’ widow and two children have sued Risher Mortuary & Cremation Services, alleging the Montebello-based funeral home botched Ramos’s embalming and deprived the family of a meaningful final farewell. John Mason, an attorney representing the company, said the mortuary strongly disputes that it mishandled Ramos’s remains and intends to vigorously defend itself against the lawsuit.
Ramos died in L.A. County on January 20, 2024, of atherosclerotic heart disease, according to the complaint filed March 9 in Los Angeles Superior Court. He is survived by his wife, Virginia Ramos, and their two children, Santos Rene Ramos and Elizabeth Ramos.
The family paid Risher $4,131 for funeral and embalming services in preparation for the funeral held at Casa Funeral Espinoza in Mexico. But, when the family examined the body after it reached Mexico on March 24, 2024, they discovered that it was in a state of “infamous and advanced decomposition.”
“The body was visibly mutilated and fluid was observed oozing from the facial area during the entire period of vision and wakefulness,” the complaint alleges. “The family was horrified and devastated by what they saw.”
According to the complaint, the funeral receiving establishment in Mexico wrote in a report dated March 28, 2024, that the embalming process was “carried out in appalling quality”, noting that the body was in a decomposed state and fluids were oozing from the face throughout the wake.
As a result of the alleged shoddy embalming, family members say they were forced to witness “the grotesque and undignified state of the remains of their loved ones” and suffered humiliation, grief and fear.
They claim that Risher breached the contract with the family by failing to professionally synthesize Ramos’s remains and treating the body with the dignity and care required by California law.
Specifically, they allege that Risher failed to use proper chemicals to preserve the body for international travel, did not adequately administer embalming fluid, did not properly seal the body and entrusted the procedure to an apprentice embalmer without adequate supervision. They further claim that at the time of Ramos’s autopsy, Risher lacked a suitable space to store human remains and lacked a preparation room equipped with the drainage, ventilation, and supplies necessary for proper autopsy.
The family is suing the company for breach of contract, negligence, causing emotional distress and violations of the California Health and Safety Code. They are seeking general and specific damages in the amount proven at trial, including the amount of money paid to Risher, additional costs incurred in Mexico to address the condition of the remains, the loss of a dignified burial service, and the distress caused.
