THE family of an 80-year-old woman is suing a hospital in Los Angeles after a pathologist determined she was declared dead prematurely and frozen alive.
Maria de Jesus Arroyo “eventually woke up” and injured herself trying (and failing) to escape.
The lawsuit states Ms Arroyo was pronounced dead after suffering a heart attack, and her family visited to say their goodbyes before she was taken to the White Memorial Medical Center’s morgue in 2010.
When morticians retrieved her body a few days later, she was found with a broken nose and cuts and bruises on her face. The injuries were initially attributed to the mishandling of her remains, but a pathologist hired by the family’s attorney came to a different conclusion.
The pathologist claims she “damaged her face, and turned herself face down as she struggled unsuccessfully to escape her frozen tomb.”
“We followed all proper protocols in this matter and are confident that once the facts of the case are reviewed, we will prevail in court,” the hospital said in a statement.
