EAST ST. LOUIS – The supplier of a bi-pap machine removed a mother's lawsuit to federal court, which claims her son with Down Syndrome died when his malfunctioning bi-pap machine was not replaced in a timely manner.
The lawsuit was originally filed by plaintiff Sharon Vernor, administrator for the estate and mother of Lequon Marquis Vernor, on Feb. 22 in the St. Clair County Circuit Court against Washington University, Lincare, Inc., Dr. Thomas W Jenkins, Dr. Gabriela Sales De Bruin, and Sekorai A. Wiggins, citing negligence.
The defendants filed a notice of removal to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois on April 7 by Lincare.
According to the lawsuit, Lequon Vernor, who was 27 at the time of his death, had Down Syndrome and was "mentally between the ages of 10 and 12," making him unable to advocate for himself as an adult.
Lequon Vernor also suffered from sleep apnea and was prescribed a bi-pap machine by the defendants. He was told to use it 11 to 12 hours per day, mostly at night.
On Sept. 14, 2020, Lequon Vernor's bi-pap machine allegedly stopped working. Sharon Vernor called Washington University and left a message for Jenkins that the machine was inoperable. Sharon Vernor also called Lincare for advice. A representative of Lincare allegedly told her to turn off the machine for 30 minutes to see if that would fix the machine. When that remedy failed to fix the problem, the representative allegedly told her that Lequon Vernor was due for a new device. The representative then said she would contact Jenkins to get him a new machine. Sharon Vernor allegedly told the Lincare representative that Lequon Vernor was extremely vulnerable and would need the machine to breathe at night. However, the suit states that two days passed and Lequon Vernor still had not received a new bi-pap machine.
On Sept. 17, Lincare allegedly contacted Wiggins to follow up on the situation. Wiggins allegedly said that he couldn't understand Lequon Vernor's name from the voicemail he received, so he couldn't pull up the patient's chart. Wiggin's then said that she would contact Jenkins.
On Sept. 18, Sharon Vernor claims she found her son unresponsive in his room at 1 p.m. He was allegedly determined to had been dead for approximately six hours.
Vernor is seeking damages in excess of $50,000. She is represented in this case by attorneys John G. Simon, John M. Simon and Megan A. Crowe of The Simon Law Firm, P.C. in St. Louis.
St. Clair County Circuit Court case number 22LA0148