Police investigating, lawsuit filed after baby allegedly decapitated during delivery at metro Atlanta hospital
Police investigating, lawsuit filed after baby allegedly decapitated during delivery at metro Atlanta hospital
Police are now investigating after a lawsuit alleging a baby was decapitated during delivery on July 9 was filed against Southern Regional Medical Center and others.
Police are now investigating after a lawsuit alleging a baby was decapitated during delivery on July 9 was filed in Clayton County against Southern Regional Medical Center and others.
Surgical tech here. I've done a metric fuck-ton of c-sections, and those cases can be brutal as hell. Never been in on a vaginal delivery, cuz that's not OR territory, but c-sections are the kind of case you're on high alert for the entire time cuz shit can go south really fast for both mother and baby. The amount of force I've seen (and contributed to) applied to get a baby out is definitely in dismemberment territory if there was some defect at play.
Some of the most horrific things I've seen in the OR have been in the c-section room. But they're the kind of thing that if you don't do, it's basically a death sentence for the mom or the baby.
Based on my own experience, I'd give the doc and delivery team the benefit of the doubt in terms of the operation: extreme circumstances can call for an extreme response, and when that doesn't work, the result is also extreme. This is a case that will haunt the staff involved all the way to the grave - really hope the hospital hooks them all up with top-notch therapy after that shit.
The lack of transparency after the fact though is 100% inexcusable, but also unsurprising coming from a private hospital. Their decisions are driven by money and PR. Ethics are a tie breaker at best.
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Most places recognize civil causes of action for negligent or intentional mishandling of a corpse, or interference with the disposition of a corpse. I think the result here does not necessarily impute medical negligence but it definitely warrants liability for their handling after the fact, as you've said. What a case. Wonder what the hospital will settle for.
I mean, if someone's going for a radical C-section definitely either mom, the baby, or both are about to die. But dude this is fucked up. I wouldn't give the benefit of the doubt here, personally. She should be sued and she should lose. But I suppose arguably it shouldn't define her career. She's been practicing for 20 years it looks like without any problems. Something went drastically wrong here but I agree with you that chaos is unfortunately part of medicine and definitely is in labor and delivery.
As for swaddling the severed head and body... I kind of also understand. Again, this is extraordinary. Everyone else in the room is as shocked as the rest of us are. What are they going to do, hold up the two halves and say "whoopsie doodle?"
As for denying an autopsy and trying to cover everything up, the hospital should be metaphorically burned to the ground. If the obstetrician was involved, that SHOULD define her career and it should be over.
I read the headline and went “What the fuck.”
While reading the article, I kept going “What the fuck.”
After finishing reading it, I’m still just sitting here going “What the fuck.”
Just…wtf.
thanks for the warning. I think’m gonna skip this one.
Same. It's for the better.
Every comment here is just "WTF" and that is entirely appropriate. Not really sure what else to say.
I wish I had not read this headline or article.
How fucking terrible of a situation. I can’t imagine what those parents are feeling right now.
Just in case anyone else, like me, was curious:
Shoulder dystocia is a condition that happens when one or both of your baby's shoulders get stuck during vaginal delivery. There are no signs and no way to prevent the condition. Causes may include having a large baby, having a small pelvis or being in the wrong position
This news article only deserves one word: "WTF!"
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Hey, What the FUCK
the baby was reportedly tightly wrapped in a blanket with his head "propped on top of his body" to conceal the fact that he was decapitated
Jesus fucking christ. There's evil, there's comically evil, there's cartoonishly evil, and then there's this. What in the everloving fuck were they thinking? You always use gorilla glue when trying to cover up a baby decapitation!
No seriously, they're surgeons, they have needles and thread RIGHT THERE. If they had any consideration at all for the parents they would have reattached the head before giving them the body. Sure they'd still have to know the truth but it would be a less painful memory they'll carry forever. I had been giving the hospital the benefit of the doubt that maybe by pushing cremation they thought they were sparing the mother some of the horror so she could just grieve. After all, she's their patient. And then I got to that part. Disgusting.