According to a lawsuit filed this week, “[a] doctor used too much force and decapitated a Georgia woman’s baby during delivery.”
The baby’s mother, Jessica Ross, and father, Treveon Isaiah Taylor Sr., attended a press conference announcing the suit. Attorney for the parents Cory Lynch stated, “They were so excited about the birth of their first child…Unfortunately, their dreams and hopes turned into a nightmare that was covered up by Southern Regional Medical Center.”
Dr. Roderick Edmond, a physician and lawyer that is also representing the couple said, “When the womb was open, the feet came out, the body came out, and there was no head.”
A spokesperson from the family released a statement that when the parents “demanded to see and hold their baby, hospital staff told them that they were not allowed to touch or hold their child.” Per the spokesperson’s statement, “Hospital staff allowed the young couple to only view their dead child…During this viewing, their baby was wrapped tightly in a blanket with his head propped on top of his body in a manner such that those viewing him could not identify that he had been decapitated.”
Lynch added, “They did everything in their power to not let the family know what actually happened on that day.” Ross and Taylor would not find out about the decapitation until four days had passed after the death of their child.
The fraud and negligence lawsuit was filed in Clayton County, GA by 20-year-old Jessica Ross against the hospital, Southern Regional Medical Center, “along with the doctors and nurses who delivered her baby and the medical group at large.” The suit is requesting a trial by jury, in addition to “monetary damages, including for the value of the baby’s life such as loss of lifetime earnings; [and] for funeral and burial costs.”
On July 9, when Ross went into labor, the lawsuit alleges that her physician “attempted to deliver the baby vaginally using different methods including applying traction to the baby’s head.”
But, “the baby did not descend properly due to shoulder dystocia,” the lawsuit continues, which is “when a baby’s shoulders become stuck in the vaginal canal.”
The complaint says that the doctor “failed to practice according to medical standards,” and “grossly” and “negligently applied excessive traction” as well as “fail[ing] to do a Cesarean section in a timely and proper manner, resulting in Treveon Isiah Taylor Jr.’s decapitation and death.”
Southern Regional Medical Center told CNN that it “denies the allegations in the complaint referencing the hospital.”
“Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with the family and all those impacted by this tragic event,” the medical center’s statement reads. “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,” continues the statement. Southern Regional Medical Center also revealed that Dr. Tracey St. Julian, the doctor in question who was attempting the delivery, is not employed by the hospital, stating “The hospital has taken the appropriate steps in response to this unfortunate situation.”