ATLANTA, Ga. (WTVO) — The medical team and hospital accused of decapitating a baby during birth are facing a lawsuit claiming a cover-up.
According to WANF, the suit claims names the hospital, doctor, several nurses, and the medical group at Southern Regional Medical Center of negligence.
The baby’s mother and father, Jessica Ross and Treveon Isaiah Taylor Sr., attended a news conference in Atlanta where their attorneys announced the lawsuit against Dr. Tracey St. Julian and Southern Regional Medical Center, a hospital in Riverdale, Georgia
Ross, 20, was giving birth on July 9th when the baby’s shoulders got stuck in her vaginal canal, the complaint says.
According to the suit, the baby got stuck during delivery, but St. Julian delayed a surgical procedure and failed to seek help quickly. Instead, she applied “ridiculously excessive force” on the baby’s head and neck to try to deliver it, attorney Roderick Edmond, who is also a physician, said.
Roughly three hours passed before St. Julian took Ross, 20, for a cesarean section, according to the suit. By then, a fetal monitor had stopped registering a heartbeat.
The cesarean section removed the baby’s legs and body, but the head was delivered vaginally, according to Edmond.
The suit says the doctor did not inform the parents what happened and refused to let them hold the baby after its death.
The couple claimed they did not learn about the decapitation until four days later.
The lawsuit is asking for damages plus the $10,000 cost of their son’s funeral.
In a statement, the Southern Regional Medical Center said “While our heartfelt sympathies go out to the family, Southern Regional Medical Center denies the allegations in the Complaint referencing the hospital. Since this matter is in litigation, we are refrained from providing any additional information. Dr. St Julian [who is named in the lawsuit] is not an employee of the hospital. The hospital has taken the appropriate steps in response to this unfortunate situation.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
