Zoom Image
Lawyer Cory Lynch with the parents of the dead baby: "Unfortunately, their dreams and hopes have turned into a nightmare"
Photo: Sudhin Thanawala / AP
In the U.S. state of Georgia, a couple has filed a lawsuit against a doctor who allegedly used so much violence at birth that the baby was decapitated. There are also allegations against the hospital in Riverdale, where the birth took place.
"They were so looking forward to the birth of their first child," Cory Lynch, one of the lawyers representing the parents of the dead baby, said at a news conference. "Unfortunately, their dreams and hopes have turned into a nightmare." In addition, the incident was covered up by the Southern Regional Medical Center.
Several hours until the caesarean section
According to the lawsuit, the doctor had failed to get help and perform a caesarean section in time when the baby got stuck in the birth canal. Instead, she used "insanely excessive force" on the baby's head and neck to bring it into the world, said lawyer Roderick Edmond, who is a doctor himself, according to the AP news agency. Several hours had passed before a caesarean section was performed on the 20-year-old woman. At this point, the baby's heartbeat was no longer detected. Edmond said the child's body was delivered by the surgical procedure, but the head was delivered vaginally.
According to the lawyer, the couple had asked for a caesarean section earlier than the baby could have survived. However, this was rejected. He said the case illustrates the higher mortality rate of children and mothers among black women.
Lawyers for the dead baby's parents also accused Southern Regional Medical Center of trying to cover up the beheading. Unnamed people would have discouraged the couple from having an autopsy and encouraged them to have their son cremated. In addition, they had wrapped and supported his body in such a way as to give the impression that the head was still connected to the rest of the body.
According to the New York Times, the parents only learned that this was not the case, so the funeral home informed them about the condition of the body. This had also notified the forensic medicine.
Police investigations launched
In the lawsuit, the accused are accused of gross negligence, fraud and intentional infliction of mental suffering. The parents are demanding unspecified damages.
The accused doctor has not yet commented on the allegations. Southern Regional Medical Center said it could not talk about treating specific patients due to privacy regulations. However, it denies the allegations against the hospital. The gynaecologist is not an employee of the hospital. However, the "appropriate steps are being taken in response to this deplorable situation".
According to the New York Times, the Clayton County Police Department said it had opened a preliminary investigation into the death of the baby.
bbr/AP