Son Left A Quadriplegic After Collapse, Mom Sues Howard Co. Schools

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — The mother of a Hammond High School varsity basketball player who collapsed last year of cardiac arrest during practice at the school has sued the Howard County Public School System.

Janet Kena, mother of the former student-athlete, claims in her lawsuit that even though there was a defibrillator placed just outside the school's gym where her son was practicing basketball, none of the school's administration or coaching staff grabbed the AED or rendered first aid/CPR to her son who now is quadriplegic, unable to speak and must eat with a feeding tube. He laid on the ground, unresponsive, for at least 15 minutes before emergency responders arrived, the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit states that HCPSS administrators and coaches' actions violated federal law. She seeks damages from the school system and several unnamed defendants connected to the incident, which happened Jan. 18, 2024, and was captured on the school's security cameras. The school district and board of education declined to comment since the complaint had not been served as of Thursday.

Read more at The Baltimore Banner