'They lost precious time,' Family sues elevator company after Boston opera singer dies of heart attack
BOSTON - He was an artistic director of the Boston Opera Company, a trained tenor who helped local talent find their own voice. But on May 27, 2020, Randall Kulunis died when medical treatment was delayed.
He was stuck in an elevator at his Allston condo building after suffering a mild heart attack. His former wife says minutes mattered.
"They lost precious time and Randy ended up dying. There's a good chance he wouldn't have died if that didn't happen in the elevator," said Barbara Morash.
According to a newly filed lawsuit, EMTs had gotten the 65-year-old Kulunis on the elevator, only to have it stop and delaying their transport for more than 30 minutes.
"It stopped between floors," Morash said. "They could not get the elevator to move. He needed equipment at the hospital to save his life."
Now Morash says their daughter, who filed the suit, wants accountability. "Her father was treated so poorly and dismissed. She felt he deserves some sort of recognition," Morash said.
The suit claims the death would not have happened if the elevator was maintained and residents were warned it was broken and not functioning properly.
Stanley Elevator, named in the suit, could not be reached for comment. But R Brown Partners, which manages the building on Cambridge Street, would only tell WBZ-TV the elevator had an up to date inspection certificate.
Barbara Morash also hopes the suit brings some simple awareness. "It's maddening to see so little interest in fixing elevators," she said.
She said Randall Kulunis leaves a legacy of making opera accessible to so many, and that's how she wants him remembered. Not, she says, as a victim of alleged negligence.