A mum has filed a lawsuit alleging that doctors attempted to conceal that her baby was decapitated during birth.
Jessica Ross filed a negligence and fraud lawsuit in a court in Clayton County, Georgia, claiming that health professionals incorrectly delivered her baby, which led to the decapitation.
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The lawsuit names several defendants including Southern Regional Medical Center, a doctor, several nurses and the medical group at large, per a statement from law firm Edmond & Lindsay, LLP.
According to the suit, the 20-year-old mum was giving birth on 9 July when her baby’s shoulders became stuck in the vaginal canal, a condition which is called shoulder dystocia.
The lawsuit alleges that a doctor allegedly performed a cesarean section too late and applied ‘excessive tension’ on the baby’s head, causing it to detach from the body.
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The doctor did not immediately tell the mother and father, Treveon Isaiah Taylor, what happened, the law firm alleged.
The hospital refused to let the couple hold the baby after death and instead showed the parents the baby wrapped tightly in a blanket with the head propped on top, the statement from the law firm claimed.
Jessica and Treveon decided to name their son, who was delivered at full term, after his father, according to the family’s attorney.
The couple claims in their suit that they were pressured by staff to have the remains of their baby son cremated and were allegedly told that an autopsy was not warranted.
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The parents allegedly didn’t learn about the decapitation until four days after their son was delivered.
“This caused immediate, profound emotional and mental anguish for [the plaintiffs]... emotional and mental anguish that they continue to experience and most probably will experience for the rest of their lives,” the complaint claims.
The plaintiffs are seeking compensatory and punitive damages of more than $10,000.
When approached for comment, the Southern Regional Medical Center said it was ‘unable to discuss the care and treatment of specific patients’ due to privacy laws and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, but it denies the allegations.
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A statement from the Southern Regional Medical Center said: “Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with the family and all those impacted by this tragic event.
"Our prayers also remain with the dedicated team of physicians, nurses and staff at Southern Regional Medical Center who cared for this patient. Our commitment is to provide compassionate, quality care to every single patient, and this loss is heartbreaking.
“Since this matter is in litigation, we are refrained from providing any additional information.
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“Our commitment is to provide compassionate, quality care to every single patient, and this loss is heartbreaking."
It later added that the physician who delivered the baby was not an employee of the hospital, but it had ‘taken the appropriate steps in response to this unfortunate situation’.
The physician is a board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist and has practiced in the Atlanta area since January 2005.
Gregory Robinson