A lawyer representing a Georgia couple, whose baby suffered decapitation during delivery last year, stated on Wednesday that both the hospital and the obstetrician did not disclose accurate information about the cause of the baby’s death. These claims echo those made in a lawsuit filed last year.
The Clayton County Medical Examiner’s Office announced on Tuesday, through a press release, that the baby’s death had been officially classified as a homicide.
Roderick Edmond, the attorney for Jessica Ross and Treveon Isaiah Taylor, alleged that the couple’s obstetrician at the time, Dr. Tracey St. Julian, failed to notify them that their baby had been decapitated during the delivery, as outlined in the couple’s lawsuit.
During a press conference, Edmond stated, “Every aspect of the evidence that shows what happened is traumatizing.” “I’ve never seen anything like that in my life.”
According to Edmond, Ross and Taylor filed a lawsuit against Southern Regional Medical Center and their doctor, St. Julian, in August, claiming that the latter used “ridiculously excessive force” in an attempt to deliver their beheaded baby. Edmond stated during the press conference that the lawsuit was still in the discovery phase.
According to a news release, the medical examiner’s office declared the baby’s death to be a homicide brought on by “actions of another person.” It said that the baby’s cervical vertebrae fracture was the immediate cause of his death.
At the news conference on Wednesday, Taylor, the baby’s father, made his first public appearance. He said that he and his girlfriend had been misled and were not allowed to touch their son.
“We just want justice for our son,” Taylor stated.
The couple named their baby Treveon Isaiah Taylor Jr., but he faced complications during delivery, likely due to shoulder dystocia, a condition where the baby’s shoulder becomes stuck behind the mother’s pubic bone.
Labor began on July 9, and despite requesting a cesarean section when the baby was deemed viable, the couple claims it was denied.
The mother, Ross, pushed for three hours without success, with St. Julian, a private practice member, attempting various methods, including applying traction to the baby’s head, resulting in decapitation and multiple injuries. Emergency C-section was then performed to deliver the baby’s body.
The involvement of the medical examiner’s office came after a funeral home overseeing the baby’s services found it unusual that the office had not been involved.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Medical Examiner’s Office conducted another autopsy on July 14, and the chief investigator, Betty Honey, along with Brian Byars, the office director, consulted OB-GYNs in October for independent feedback.
Honey also sought the opinion of a private forensic pathologist on January 18 to determine the cause of the baby’s death.
Leave a Reply