Father Taylor Treveon Isaiah and mother Jessica Ross
According to the complaint, 20-year-old Jessica Ross’s water broke at 10 a.m. July 9 and she went to the emergency department at Prime Healthcare Service, Inc. d/b/a Southern Regional Medical Center in Riverdale Georgia.
At approximately 8:40 p.m., Ross was fully dilated and instructed to begin pushing. The complaint says the baby stopped descending due to shoulder dystocia while being delivered vaginally and Dr. Tracey St. Julian, M.D., reportedly attempted to deliver the baby vaginally using different methods, including applying traction to the baby’s head.
After not being able to deliver the baby, Dr. St. Julian reportedly decided to perform a STAT Cesarean section at approximately 11:49 p.m. The baby’s body and legs were then delivered at 12:11 a.m. and the baby’s head was delivered vaginally.
The lawsuit claims that Dr. St. Julian did not tell Ross and her family about the decapitation when she spoke to them at approximately 5 a.m. July 10. The lawsuit also claims that the hospital discouraged Ross and the baby’s father, Treveon Taylor Sr., from seeking an autopsy, saying a free autopsy was not an option for them under the circumstances. Instead, they reportedly encouraged the couple to have their son cremated instead of being sent to a funeral home.
According to a statement from the family’s spokesperson, when Ross and Taylor “demanded to see and hold their baby, hospital staff told them that they were not allowed to touch or hold their child.”
“Hospital staff allowed the young couple to only view their dead child,” the statement from the family’s spokesperson reads.
“During this viewing, their baby was wrapped tightly in a blanket with his head propped on top of his body in a manner such that those viewing him could not identify that he had been decapitated,” according to the statement.
