A family from Córdoba held a wake and cremated another person, believing it was their loved one. The federal court awarded them compensation
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A family from Córdoba experienced an unusual situation after receiving the wrong body of their deceased relative. The incident took place at the Hospital Nacional de Clínicas, which is part of the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (UNC). Caruso funeral home mistakenly collected and delivered the body of another man with the same last name.
The confusion led the relatives to hold a wake and cremate a person they did not know. Days later, they were informed of the mistake and had to go through the farewell process again. The case was brought before the Federal Court of Córdoba for moral damages.
Acting federal judge Carlos Ochoa decided to hold both UNC and Caruso company liable. Both must compensate the relatives of Feliciano Narciso Mercado with a total of $10.3 million.
La funeraria Caruso retiró y entregó por error el cadáver de otro hombre con el mismo apellido.
Error at Hospital de Clínicas
According to the case file, the episode began on May 9, 2023, when Feliciano Mercado passed away at Hospital de Clínicas. His body was transferred to the morgue in the Alberdi neighborhood to be collected by Caruso funeral home. There, the company's staff mistakenly took the body of another man with the same last name.
The family attended the wake with the casket closed and sealed, under the explanation that it would be a brief ceremony. They trusted that version and proceeded with the cremation at a cemetery near Colonia Tirolesa. Only days later would they receive an unexpected call that would change everything.
The deceased's son was summoned by the company and the hospital for a meeting, where they informed him that they had delivered the wrong body. Feliciano's real body was still in the Clínicas morgue, while the body that was cremated belonged to Esteban Mercado, who had died weeks earlier.
Una familia de Córdoba vivió una situación insólita tras recibir el cuerpo equivocado de su familiar fallecido.
Double wake and legal claim
The family was forced to identify their loved one's body and repeat the funeral process. They returned the ashes of the other deceased and carried out a new cremation. According to the ruling, the episode caused deep pain and disturbed their spiritual peace.
Attorney Jorge Ignacio Mosquera represented the relatives in the lawsuit against UNC and Caruso funeral home. The claim was based on the moral damage caused by the confusion of bodies and the traumatic double wake. The judge determined that both parties acted without due diligence.
Ochoa held that there was a "lack of service" on the part of the hospital staff and a "defect in the fulfillment of the service" by the funeral home. Consequently, he ordered compensation to the relatives totaling more than ten million pesos.
La confusión llevó a que los familiares velaran y cremaran a una persona que no conocían.
The ruling and its grounds
According to the judgment, UNC must pay $6.8 million to Feliciano Mercado's indirect relatives. Meanwhile, Caruso and the university must jointly pay $3.5 million plus interest to the deceased's son. The judge considered it proven that both acted without the necessary controls in a "foreseeable and avoidable" event.
The judge noted that, although it was not possible to determine exactly how the confusion occurred, the lack of verification in the delivery of the body was decisive. He also pointed out that both UNC and the funeral home had acknowledged errors in their internal procedures. The ruling has not been appealed so far.
The case concluded with financial compensation and the judicial recommendation to strengthen corpse identification protocols. The decision was issued by Federal Court No. 1 of Córdoba on November 12, 2025.
