The death of a baby who was decapitated during delivery has been ruled a homicide, the Clayton County (Ga.) Medical Examiner's office said.
Jessica Ross, 20, filed a lawsuit in August alleging that Riverdale, Ga.-based Southern Regional Medical Center attempted to conceal the manner of death of her newborn baby, CNN reported Feb. 6. During labor on July 9, the baby became stuck and the physician applied traction to the baby's head in order to free it. The lawsuit alleges the physician "grossly" and "negligently applied excessive traction" and failed to do a Cesarean section in a timely manner, which resulted in the baby's decapitation and death.
The physician's attorney said "the separation of the head from the fetal body occurred post-mortem and any assertion to the contrary is false." He said during the emergency, it "became clear" to the physician that the baby did not survive the entrapment and the priority shifted to saving the mother's life. The physician has not been criminally charged.
The medical examiner's office said the baby died from a broken neck and its head was detached, according to a Feb. 6 news release shared with Becker's. The manner of death was ruled to be caused by another person and labeled homicide. However, the term homicide as used in the medical examiner's report should not be confused with the criminal charge with the same terminology, the release said.
A spokesperson for Southern Regional Medical Center told CNN, "Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with the family and all those impacted by this tragic event. Our prayers also remain with the dedicated team of physicians, nurses and staff at Southern Regional Medical Center who cared for this patient. Our commitment is to provide compassionate, quality care to every single patient, and this loss is heartbreaking. Due to current litigation, we are unable to comment."
The case is under investigation by the Clayton County Police Department and could be referred to the county district attorney's office, according to the release.