Justice for Janet: Support Melanie's Fight

JUSTICE FOR JANET!!!

Hey y'all, this is for Janet Lavender's family, who lost her in a sudden and tragic way. Her daughter, Melanie Lavender, is struggling with trying to get justice for Janet, as well as with trying to survive financially, as they lived together and split the household finances. She has been on disability for 11 years and incurred some debt due to Janet's passing. Anything will help. Thank you.

This is going to be a LONG one, please read until the end and share. Some sentences may be repeated, so bear with me please. So, I don’t think I have ever posted except when my mom and dad passed away. However, I have to say this to either get some help with this or just get it off my chest. Let me preface this by saying that I have such admiration and respect for first responders and the work they do to save lives and help people on their worst days. I was a frequent caller of 911 due to my grandma, uncle, mom, and dad due to medical issues. However, PSA: If you call a lot, they might not take it seriously and your loved one might die due to this. I believe that my mom could have been saved and should still be here. I tried unsuccessfully to get the call logs and audio, and the detailed report of the incident on July 20th 2022. I kept getting denied as well as attorneys were denied the records. I finally received the records in October of 2024. Conveniently, after the window to sue them had closed. I thought I had 3 yrs for wrongful death but since it would be against a government agency, it was 2 yrs. In some cases the time can be extended through the discovery rule, equitable tolling, and the Tort Claims Act. I spent countless hours at the library researching and educating myself on this subject. All lawyers I spoke with said that I had a case, I just needed to get proof, the records. Below is a very detailed “report” of what happened.

Account of what transpired on July 20th 2022:

My mother has had a history of taking too many of her prescription medications and also having seizures. I thought the seizures were occurring due to her taking too much of her prescription medication and I voiced that to EMS and FD every time she had an "overdose". So, they knew her history, which I believe caused them to not take this situation as an emergency, that it was just another trip to the ER due to her taking too much of her medication, which wasn't the case at all. I took over her medication, and was distributing it to her daily in the correct amount and dosage for years. The seizures had subsided. They treated my mom like a drug addict, she never did any illegal drugs, she would just take too many of her prescription medications due to forgetting that she took them and then taking them again and again. She was not suicidal or ever trying to hurt herself, as noted in all the hospital reports.

I was awoken by a loud noise of my mom falling, I jumped out of the bed and saw my mom on the bathroom floor actively seizing. I grabbed my phone and called 911 at 4:06 am to report this and get help for my mom. She stopped seizing and a dark brown substance was coming out of her mouth (I did not know if it was blood or what it was). My mom came out of her seizure and sat up and kept trying to get up. I told her she had to remain sitting up on the floor. She kept repeating "oh god please, oh god." A lot of time had passed when she said she wanted to lay down, that she was tired. I continued to tell her that she had to remain seated upright until the paramedics got there. The dispatcher informed me to lay her down, that it was ok for her to do so. And to let her know every time she took a breath, so I did. My grandmother was at the door waiting for the FD and EMS to get to our house. When they finally entered my house, I was told to move, and they started working on her. It took them 24 min and 26 sec to get to my house and another 6 minutes to get from the road to my mom to render aid. THEY ARE 0.8 MILES AWAY FROM MY HOUSE!?

The FD started CPR on my mom and gave her 6 epi pen shots to try and start her heart again. They did not have a defibrillator with them (not that I saw). They did not intubate my mother. They originally told me they were hopeful that they could get her back, but they worked on her for 45 minutes. Until it was clear that she would be brain dead if they were to bring her back, at which point I instructed them to stop.

I have since looked up protocol for seizures and you are never supposed to lay a person on their back after a seizure.

Not only were they negligent on the timing of getting to the house, but the dispatcher telling me to lay her on her back, not having a defibrillator, and not intubating. She was still breathing right before they arrived, she took her last breaths about 30-45 seconds before they walked in the door. They were outside. It shows that on the report. I just want justice for my mom, she needs someone to fight for her and I am trying to do that. Also, I don't want this to happen to another family and have another family go through what my family has gone through and continues to go through. If this hits them in their pockets, then maybe they will take every call seriously. No amount of money will bring my mom back, but to hold them liable would help.

I have several correspondences with the Chief, trying to get the records unsuccessfully. I am certain they knew that if they were to give me the records I was requesting that it would show negligence on their part which led to my moms death.

I have a case, they just held off on giving me the documentation I needed to proceed with the lawsuit for wrongful death or medical malpractice. There has to be some way that would still allow them to be held responsible for this tragedy that has forever altered my family.

One of the medics told me they were hopeful they could get her back. They did not have a defibrillator with them (that I saw). After working on her for about 45 minutes they pulled me to the side and said "So, here's the deal, your mom's dead, nothing has worked so far. Do you want us to continue?" I asked if she would be brain dead if they were successful, and he told me yes. I instructed them to stop at that point.

On the autopsy report, it shows no internal bleeding or any injuries that contributed to her death. Tox screen showed her regular medicine in the correct dosage, no extras. It was respiratory depression due to the seizure. I believer that not only were they negligent in telling me to lay her on her back, which like I noted previously, I have since looked up and it says that laying a person on their back after a seizure can cause death due to the possibility of airway obstruction, they did not intubate, not having a defibrillator, and most importantly, taking 24 minutes and 26 seconds to get to my house and another 6 minutes to render aid to my mother, when they are 0.8 miles away. There was no traffic at 4:06am.

It shows that units weren't available, then dispatched, then priority changed, then re- routed, then late and delayed.

They wouldn't release any of this information to previous attorneys who reached out, even when I was declared PR of her estate. They denied me as well.

I have called 911 several times, in which many times were due to seizures and it never took that long. I am being extremely generous when I say maybe 15 minutes at the most, even during rush hour traffic. There are repeated calls on the logs they sent as well. I asked for copies of all the times FD and EMS were called to my house for the past 7- 10 yrs and only received 3 for my mother, which is clearly not right because of all the hospital records showing she arrived via ambulance.

I have so much more “evidence” that just doesn’t add up at all. I just want justice for my mom, which she deserves. Justice for Janet!!!