Atlanta family alleges doctor decapitated their baby at birth in lawsuit

An Atlanta family filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against a doctor and a hospital after their baby was allegedly decapitated during the delivery. 

Jessica Ross and her boyfriend Treveon Taylor went to the Southern Regional Medical Center in Riverdale, Georgia on July 9 to give birth to their son. However, nothing could have prepared them for what they experienced that day.  

According to the lawsuit, the baby’s shoulders became stuck in the vaginal canal during the birthing process. The doctor then tried different methods to deliver the baby, including applying traction to the baby’s head, despite the couple requesting a Cesarean section. 

Three hours later, the doctor performed a C-section, during which the baby’s body and legs were removed from the womb. However, the head was still delivered vaginally. 

"When the womb was opened, the feet came out, the body came out, and there was no head," said Dr. Roderick Edmond, one of the couple's lawyers. 

"Dr. St. Julian came in, and she, in the process of trying to deliver the baby, pulled on the baby's head and neck so hard, and manipulated them so hard, that the bones of the baby's skull, face, and neck were broken."  

The couple is accusing the hospital, Dr. Tracey St. Julian, and several nurses of gross negligence, fraud, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. 

"The healthcare providers at Southern Regional Hospital, after the horrific incident told them these things and then tried to hide what actually happened," said Cory Lynch, another attorney representing the couple.  

"When they wrapped this baby up tightly, they propped the baby's head up on top of the blanket to make it appear that the baby's head was attached when it wasn't," he said.

The hospital never told the couple how the baby died. Instead, they found out about the alleged decapitation from the funeral home that was preparing the body of their baby. 

The Clayton County Police and the Medical Examiner’s office are now investigating the case. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation also confirmed that it will be looking into the incident. 

"We're going to put all of these people who were in the room under oath and find out what they have to say specifically about what happened that tragic, tragic evening," Edmond said.