Wisconsin residents may have heard of a recently filed lawsuit that resulted from the horrific death of an infant during delivery. The case is making headlines across the nation, and the medical malpractice suit filed by the parents contains details that are difficult to face. As the case makes its way through the legal process, both patients and doctors are likely to keep a close watch on developments as the court determines whether doctors and medical institutions contributed to the course of events that ended a new life before it could even really begin.
The parents claim that they were told during a routine pregnancy wellness appointment that their baby’s abdomen was too large to allow a safe vaginal birth, and that a Cesarean delivery would be necessary. However, when the mother went into premature labor at just 28 weeks, the doctor who was handling the delivery allegedly told her that a vaginal delivery was the only option. The mother agreed to the procedure, although under protest and in a great deal of distress.
During that delivery, the lawsuit claims that the doctor applied force to the baby’s head when it became struck, breaking it loose from his cervical spine and causing blood to spray onto the floor in front of both parents. The doctor allegedly responded by trying to push the baby’s head back inside the mother. An emergency C-section was performed, and during that process the doctor surgically removed the baby’s head from its body. The parents claim that the doctor tried to conceal these neck wounds when they were allowed to hold their dead infant.
This case will certainly receive heavy media coverage in Wisconsin and elsewhere as it moves through the legal process. The parents are seeking damages in an unspecified amount, to include covering the costs of pregnancy and funeral expenses. In addition, they are suing for personal injury as well as wrongful death in the matter. While no court outcome can ever make up for the loss that this couple has experienced, a successful medical malpractice suit could give them a sense of justice for the violent loss of their baby boy.
Source: Medical Daily, “Doctor Beheads Baby in Grisly Botched Birth and Tries to Cover it Up With C-Section, Lawsuit,” Christine Hsu, Oct. 12, 2012
