A Georgia doctor decapitated a baby during delivery, according to the lawsuit. Due to a 20-year-old delivery gone wrong, a lawsuit has been filed against Georgia’s Southern Regional Medical Centre and Dr. Tracey ST. Julian. This is one of the most heartbreaking stories I’ve ever heard.
We are very sorry for the baby’s parent’s unimaginable loss. Please keep all your prayers for Jessica and Treveon during this most difficult period. Here’s what we know everything about the accused doctor Tracey St. Julian and the tragic loss.
Warning: Certain facts in this story may distress some readers. This story contains sensitive material about childbirth that may be triggering.
Heartbreaking: Baby decapitated during delivery
A complaint was filed on Wednesday and claims that a family believes a doctor in Georgia killed a woman’s baby after using excessive force to free it from a blocked delivery.
Ross went into labor on July 9, the complaint claims, and her doctor “attempted to deliver the baby vaginally using different methods, including applying traction to the baby’s head.”
The lawsuit claims that during the attempted birth, “the baby did not properly descend due to shoulder dystocia,” a condition in which a newborn gets its shoulders caught in the vaginal canal.
According to the complaint, the doctor “failed to practice in accordance with medical standards.” As per the lawsuit, the doctor “grossly” and “negligently applied excessive traction” on the infant’s head and neck and “failed to perform a Caesarean section in a timely and proper manner, resulting in Treveon Isaiah Taylor Jr.’s decapitation and death.”
Southern Regional Medical Centre said in a statement,
Southern Regional Medical Centre said in a statement to CNN on Wednesday afternoon that it “denies the allegations in the complaint referencing the hospital.”
The family representative said that 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.”
The young couple was only permitted to see their dead child by hospital officials, according to the family’s representative.
“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,” the statement reads.
Clayton County Medical Examiner said,
His office is calling on state officials to investigate the incident. According to Byars, his office has gotten in touch with the Georgia Composite Medical Board “and asked that they also look into the roles played by three doctors in this incident.”
He said, “and will request that they also investigate the nursing staff’s role in this incident.” The agency is also in the process of informing the Georgia Secretary of State agency Board of Nursing, the official said.
Due to patient privacy rules and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, the Southern Regional Medical Centre stated that it was “unable to discuss the care and treatment of specific patients”.
Lawyer Roderick Edmond said,
Lawyer Roderick Edmond, also representing the parents and who is also a doctor, alleged Dr. St Julian had applied “ridiculously excessive force” to the baby. “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.”
He said: “When the womb was opened, the feet came out, the body came out, and there was no head,” he said. The baby was not able to be delivered vaginally due to shoulder dystocia, where the baby’s shoulders become stuck in the birth canal.
Here’s what exactly happened to the baby
July 9, 2023, 10 am
After Jessica Ross’s water broke with their first child at 8:40 p.m., she and her boyfriend Treveon Taylor Sr. went to the emergency room at Southern Regional Medical Centre in Riverdale.
Later that night, Jessica was completely dilated and started pushing. When his shoulders got caught in the vaginal canal, their bundle of joy stopped moving out.
When Dr. Tracey St. Julian arrived, she delivered the baby naturally rather than through a C-section. The baby’s skull, face, and neck bones were broken as the doctor tugged on his head and neck too hard to get him out.
11:50 pm-3 hours later, after tugging, pulling, & manipulating the newborn’s body Dr. St Julian calls for an emergency c-section.
12:11 am- The baby’s body & legs were delivered. Shortly after his head was delivered vaginally, detached from his body.
The doctor nor the staff told the newborn parents what had happened. Instead, they wrapped the baby up tightly in a blanket placing the head on top of the body for the couple to see through the glass window.
The parents were told they couldn’t hold him. Sometime later, they were told that the baby had passed away and encouraged the parents to have the baby cremated immediately without an autopsy.
They refused and had the baby sent to a funeral home. After receiving the body, the funeral home alerted the authorities about the baby’s head being decapitated and why wasn’t the medical examiner’s office notified.
A lawsuit was filed on August 9, 2023, against the doctor and hospital. It was because the funeral home alerted authorities about the baby’s head being decapitated & how the hospital failed to report his death to the medical examiner’s office.
Dr. Tracey St. Julian was questioned & admitted to authorities & the family what happened, & based on that the parents filed a lawsuit & are asking for compensation & punitive damages.
Prime Healthcare Services’ statement
In a statement, Prime Healthcare Services, who own the hospital, said its’ “heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with the family and all those impacted by this tragic event”. “Our commitment is to provide compassionate, quality care to every single patient, and this loss is heart-breaking,” the hospital said. It added that Dr. St. Julian was not an employee of the hospital, and it had “taken the appropriate steps in response to this unfortunate situation”.
Who is Tracey St. Julian?
Dr. Tracey St. Julian is a board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist. Since January 2005, she has operated a practice near Atlanta.
As a board-certified robotic surgeon with a focus on the treatment of uterine fibroids and irregular uterine bleeding, Dr. St. Julian also offers other surgical procedures.
At Prairie View A&M University, where she completed her undergraduate studies, she earned a B.S. in biology with a minor in chemistry. She worked as a lab technician at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, following her college graduation.
In addition to beginning her first year of medical school at the University of Texas Medical Branch in 1992, Dr. St. Julian was also commissioned into the American Army during the same year.
After earning her medical degree in 1996, she started a four-year residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the National Capital Uniformed Services in Bethesda, Maryland, and Walter Reed Army Medical Centre in Washington, DC.
After completing her residency in 2000, Dr. St. Julian was hired by Womack Army Medical Centre at Fort Bragg. She is Jah’Shawn St. Julian’s wife. Elan and Bree, their two lovely girls, were born to them. Dr. St. Julian is the only child of James and Linda Fisher.
Dr. St Julian is particularly interested in the health of young women. She takes delight in providing her patients with individualized attention. Dr. St Julian takes great pride in his time spent in the US Army.
Georgia mother files lawsuit after alleging her baby was decapitated
A legal complaint alleged that a doctor killed a woman’s child in Georgia during a “nightmare” birth. Jessica Ross and Treveon Taylor are suing Dr. Tracey St. Julian for gross negligence after their son passed away at Southern Regional Hospital following a challenging delivery.
According to court documents, a mother who claims her son was decapitated during birth at a Georgia hospital last month filed a complaint against the facility and everyone involved in the delivery on Wednesday.
The Southern Regional Medical Centre allegedly tried to keep the baby’s cause of death a secret from the family, including the baby’s mother, 20-year-old Jessica Ross, and her boyfriend, Treveon Isaiah Taylor Sr. In addition, several nurses are being sued for hiding the occurrence.
Their solicitors asserted that during the delivery, Dr. St. Julian had used excessive force on the infant. One of their solicitors, Cory Lynch, stated that the couple was “so excited about the birth of their first child.”
Sadly, he continued, “Southern Regional Medical Centre covered up their nightmare as their dreams and hopes.” The hospital is located near Riverdale, about 13 miles south of Atlanta’s downtown.
According to the family lawyer, the infant, who was named after his father, was born at full term. The cause of the infant’s death has not been disclosed by the county medical examiner’s office. The office’s director, Brian Byars, told CNN that work is still being done to finish the baby’s autopsy.
Did the hospital deny the claims?
Southern Regional Medical Center’s spokesperson, Kimberly Golden-Benner, told USA TODAY that although the hospital “denies the allegations” against it, it is unable to comment on ongoing litigation.
The hospital issued a statement saying, “Our sincere thoughts and prayers are with the family and all those impacted by this tragic event.” We continue to pray for the kind medical professionals at Southern Regional Medical Centre who treated this patient.
According to the statement, St. Julian “is not and never has been an employee of the hospital, and the hospital has taken appropriate steps in response to this unfortunate situation.” “Our commitment is to provide compassionate, quality care to every single patient, and this loss is heartbreaking,” the statement reads.
Clayton County Police Department posted on Twitter,
Clayton County Police Department posted on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, the department is investigating the child’s death. “We are in the preliminary phase of an active and ongoing investigation at this time,” the department wrote. “We will not able to provide additional details at this time due to the nature of the open investigation.”
People seek justice for the child of the Georgia parents.
We humbly ask that you remember Jessica Ross and Treveon Taylor’s family in your prayers. Your moral support will give them the strength and confidence to tackle each hurdle head-on as they travel down the difficult road to recovery.
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Lavanya (Senior Editor) is a full-time content writer with almost 5 years of experience and a part-time teacher. She joined Medico Topics on the Breaking News trainee scheme in 2022 and now works on MedicoTopics.com. As a lifelong learner, She is constantly curious about learning new things and passionate about sharing knowledge with people through her writing and teaching.