Man Learned He Was Allegedly Switched at Birth with Baby Who Had the Same Last Name. Now He’s Suing

• Kevin McMahon and Ross McMahon were born in Jamaica Hospital Medical Center in Queens, N.Y., on May 26, 1960
• Carol Vignola took a DNA test and learned in October 2020 that her brother, Kevin McMahon, was not biologically related to her. Kevin confirmed his DNA in January 2021 and learned he and Ross were switched at birth
• Kevin is now suing Jamaica Hospital Medical Center for alleged medical malpractice over the “preventable tragedy”

A New York man discovered his mother and father weren’t his biological parents over 60 years after his birth, according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE.

Kevin McMahon, 64, filed a lawsuit against Jamaica Hospital Medical Center in Queens, N.Y., in 2021, on a claim of medical malpractice for allegedly switching him at birth with Ross McMahon on May 26, 1960. Ross and Kevin were both tagged “Baby McMahon” and born within an hour and 45 minutes of each other, Kevin’s attorney Jeremy Schiowitz told PEOPLE. They were then allegedly given to the incorrect set of parents.

Kevin learned his true identity after the woman he’d grown up with as his sister, Carol Vignola, 66, submitted their DNA to Ancestry.com in October 2020. Vignola learned of a biological brother, whom she was unaware of, per the court documents. 

The test results confirmed Vignola and Kevin’s longtime suspicions that he was not biologically related to his family. Vignola began speculating whether Kevin was her biological brother when she was 7 years old, she told the New York Post.

Vignola then told her brother of the discovery, who was shocked by the revelation.

In January 2021, Kevin took and submitted his own Ancestry.com test, which confirmed his identity. He also discovered that he had a biological brother, Keith. Later, Kevin, Keith, Vignola and Ross took additional tests to confirm their genetic relationships. 

“[It was] like a shock reaction. I literally couldn’t come to terms with the information,” Kevin told the Post. “For a long time, I’m like, I’m not really Kevin McMahon. I’m really Ross McMahon… I thought to myself, ‘I’m nobody… I don’t exist.’ ”

Kevin told the outlet that throughout his childhood, he was tormented by family members who suspected he wasn’t a blood relative. “It was like the missing piece in the jigsaw puzzle,” Kevin said. “[It] explained everything about why my childhood was the way that it was.”

He told the Post that his paternal grandmother and his father suspected he wasn’t related to them and treated him so. Due to Kevin’s olive skin and brown eyes, his grandmother suspected his mother had cheated on his father. “She seemed to hate me,” Kevin said. “She believed that I was not my father’s child, and she was correct.”

“I had certain interactions with my grandmother that were abusive, physically abusive, and I learned to fear her and just stay away from her, really, to stay out of arm’s reach,” Kevin said, adding that he feared his late father.

“I got hit a lot when I was a kid from my father, I did not look forward to him coming home,” he said. “I just thought my father didn’t really care for me,” Kevin added, saying that he was kept “at arm’s distance.”

All four parents involved died before the discovery was made.

Kevin also confessed he has “a little bit of jealousy” for Ross. “They doted on him,” Kevin said. “My blood brother Keith tells me that my [biological] paternal father was Ross’ biggest fan, that he supported him, always had his back, was always there. I would have loved to have that.”

Kevin is suing for medical malpractice, claiming he “sustained negligent infliction of emotional distress”; “severe mental distress and emotional shock”; “has been and continues to suffer great emotional pain and anguish”; and “has incurred and will continue to incur expenses for the care and treatment of his severe emotional injuries.” Kevin and his legal team are seeking unspecified financial damages.

“It makes them seem cold and heartless that they’re not even coming across and acknowledging that this took place,” Kevin told the Post of Jamaica Hospital. 

“Two babies. Same hospital. Same day. Same last name. Both tagged ‘Baby McMahon,’ ” His attorney, Jeremy Schiowitz, told PEOPLE. “Their birth certificates are sequential. It’s no mystery what happened—Jamaica Hospital switched the babies. And the DNA proves it.”

Schiowitz told the Post that the hospital failed to “double-check its procedures,” adding, “This wasn’t a fluke. This was a preventable tragedy.”

Representatives for Jamaica Hospital Medical Center did not provide further comment when contacted on Monday.

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