Jury Awards Lake Forest Couple $5 Million for Son's Wrongful Death at Care Facility

By PAUL ANDERSON

An Orange County jury awarded $5 million in damages today to a Lake Forest couple whose 15-year-old disabled son died at a Mission Viejo live-in care facility in 2012 after staff failed to give him his anti- seizure medication or try to revive him with CPR.

Jurors considering the wrongful death lawsuit filed by the parents of Kevin Barr will return to court July 20 for a second phase of the trial to determine if punitive damages should be imposed on Lonika Homes Inc.

Jurors deliberated for about 5 1/2 hours before reaching their verdict this morning in Orange County Superior Court. The jurors found for the plaintiffs on wrongful death as well as claims of concealment after the death and willful misconduct before the death.

Because the jury found for the plaintiffs on the concealment claim, the panel is not bound by medical malpractice caps on damages, according to attorney Eric Dubin, who represents the Barr family.

“I’m just overwhelmed,” said Kevin’s father, Mark Barr.

“We got justice for our son,” a teary-eyed mother, Michele Barr, told City News Service. “He didn’t have to die.”

Kevin Barr was born at 25 weeks, and he was just a shade over one pound. He suffered from cerebral palsy and a seizure disorder, but he was otherwise happy, his parents said.

“He was great, always smiling, always happy,” Mark Barr said.

Kevin Barr really enjoyed watching children’s shows on TV like “Teletubbies,” but his mother said with a chuckle that when a teacher brought him a copy of “High School Musical,” he became “really excited,” which indicated to her he was a bit more advanced than they thought.

Kevin had been in the facility for about six years.

Attorney Tom Beach, who represented Lonika Homes, argued that Kevin did not miss a dose of medicine. He also denied the plaintiff’s claims of an hour- long delay in calling 911, saying the teen was found unresponsive at 4:10 a.m. Feb. 7, 2012, and authorities were called nine minutes later.

Beach also argued that Kevin Barr did not die from a seizure due to a missed dose, but was having a “breakthrough seizure” that couldn’t be arrested by medicine. He argued it was a syndrome called Sudden Unexplained Death in Epilepsy Patients, or SUDEP.

City News Service