Man Allegedly Switched at Birth Discovers Mix-Up 60 Years Later
Two families are living through what feels like a TV show plot.
In fact, for Kevin McMahon, his life is like something pulled from Freeform series Switched at Birth after the 64-year-old says he discovered a hospital accidentally sent him home him home with the wrong family due to their identical last names. Now, he's suing the hospital and opening up about the mix-up's impact.
It began when members of Kevin’s family, as seen in a court summons obtained by NBC News, submitted their DNA for an Ancestry.com test and received results that they say indicated Kevin’s sister, Carol Vignola, had a brother by the name of Ross McMahon.
The document notes that after “doing some investigation,” Carol realized Kevin and Ross were born within two hours of each other on May 26, 1960, in Queens’ Jamaica Hospital Medical Center and that “the numbers on their birth certificates were consecutive.”
After telling Kevin what she’d learned, Kevin submitted his own DNA for testing and the “results did not reveal any relationship to his ‘sister,’ Carol Vignola, his niece nor anyone else he thought he was related to,” and instead identified a brother, Keith McMahon, whom Kevin didn't know, per the filing.
The filing claims Kevin has delt with “injuries, including emotional pain and suffering,” following the incident.
E! News has reached out to Jamaica Queens Hospital for comment but has not yet heard back.
Following the discovery, Kevin opened up about how the knowledge has impacted his life.
“It was like the missing piece in the jigsaw puzzle,” he told The New York Post in an interview published April 6. “[It] explained everything about why my childhood was the way that it was.”
Kevin further explained that growing up, he often felt as though his paternal grandmother treated him differently from his other three siblings.
The filing claims Kevin has delt with “injuries, including emotional pain and suffering,” following the incident.
E! News has reached out to Jamaica Queens Hospital for comment but has not yet heard back.
Following the discovery, Kevin opened up about how the knowledge has impacted his life.
“It was like the missing piece in the jigsaw puzzle,” he told The New York Post in an interview published April 6. “[It] explained everything about why my childhood was the way that it was.”
Kevin further explained that growing up, he often felt as though his paternal grandmother treated him differently from his other three siblings.
“She believed that I was not my father’s child, and she was correct,” he said. “[It] made me feel worthless. It destroyed my confidence.”
He added that since meeting his biological family, including Ross, with whom he was allegedly switched, he’s learned Ross had a different experience growing up.
“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.”
(E! News and NBC News are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)
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