A 20-year-old Atlanta woman has filed a lawsuit against a hospital in the city’s suburb of Riverdale after alleging a doctor decapitated her baby while giving birth in July.
According to a FOX Atlanta report, Jessica Ross was rushed to the Southern Regional Medical Center’s emergency room on July 9 after her water broke shortly before noon. Later that day, at around 9 PM, she was fully dilated and began to push.
While delivering her baby, Ross said her baby stopped descending because of shoulder dystocia while the baby was being delivered vaginally. Shoulder dystocia means a baby’s shoulders cannot fit through the pelvic area.
According to the lawsuit, Dr. Tracey St. Julian continued to deliver the baby and applied traction to the baby’s head.
“In the process of trying to deliver this baby pulled on the head and neck so hard, and manipulated them so hard, that the bones in the baby’s skull face and neck were broken,” Roderick Edmond, one of Ross’ lawyers said during a press conference.
Shortly before midnight, Dr. St. Julian proceeded to perform a STAT Cesarean section. The baby’s body and legs were finally delivered at 12:11.
The lawsuit states Dr. St. Julian did not disclose to Ross that her baby had been decapitated.
The lawsuit also accuses the hospital of discouraging the child’s father, Treveon Taylor, from obtaining an autopsy, and instead, told the couple to have the son cremated. Furthermore, the lawsuit discloses that the hospital allegedly never told authorities about the decapitation.
“They did everything in their power to not let the family know what happened,” Lynch explained.
The lawsuit added that Dr. St. Julian “grossly negligently applied excessive traction on Treveon Isiah Taylor Jr.’s head and neck and grossly negligently failed to do a Cesarean section in a timely and proper manner, resulting in Treveon Isaiah Taylor Jr.’s decapitation and death.”
A spokesperson at Southern Regional Medical Center told FOX News Digital that they could not provide details, citing privacy laws.
“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,” the hospital wrote in a statement.
“While our 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 cannot provide additional statements. As far as Dr. St Julian, she is not an employee of the hospital. The hospital has taken the appropriate steps in response to this unfortunate situation.”
