Medical examiner says doctors, nurses referred for investigations in decapitation of baby during delivery

CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — The medical examiner's office in Clayton County said Thursday it had made referrals to the state's medical and nursing boards for investigations of the doctors and nurses involved in the decapitation of a baby during delivery.

The Clayton County Medical Examiner's statement came a day after the family of 20-year-old Jessica Ross announced a lawsuit against Southern Regional Medical Center over the infant's death last month.

Lawyers for Ross and her boyfriend Treveon Isaiah Taylor, Sr. said she was in labor for 10 hours. The couple was devastated after the July 9 delivery. 

According to the lawsuit, there were complications during the labor and attorneys claim the doctor applied “ridiculously excessive force” on the baby’s head and neck to try to deliver it, attorney Roderick Edmond, who is also a physician, said. Around three hours passed before the doctor took 20-year-old Ross for a C-section, legal documents said.

"The feet came out, the body came out and there was no head," Edmond said.

According to the medical examiner's office, "We have notified the Georgia Composite Medical Board of the incident and requested that they also investigate three doctor’s roles in this incident. We are currently in the process of notifying the Georgia Secretary of State Office Board of Nursing of the incident and will request that they also investigate the nursing staff’s role in this incident."

The lawsuit alleged the hospital, Southern Regional Medical Center, kept the manner of the baby's death a secret from the family for several days. In response to the allegations, Southern Regional Medical Center initially released a statement that due to patient privacy laws, they couldn't discuss a patient's care but offered thoughts and prayers to the family. The hospital's full statement can be read at the bottom of this story.

Later on, the hospital released a second statement, denying the allegations and stating the doctor mentioned in the lawsuit is "not an employee of the hospital," adding they have "taken the appropriate steps in response to this unfortunate situation."

The medical examiner's office stated Thursday it was first notified of the infant's death by the Willie A. Watkins Funeral Home in Riverdale on July 13, which is four days after the delivery happened. 

"They informed us that the family had a private autopsy performed but because of the trauma injuries and circumstances involved, they wanted to make sure it was reported to our office," the statement said. "We are grateful for their call, because the incident had not yet been reported to us."

The medical examiner's chief investigator responded to the funeral home, the statement said, took jurisdiction of the death investigation and then made contact with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's Medical Examiner's Office about the case.

According to the statement the Clayton County chief investigator, Betty Honey, requested an autopsy by the GBI. Honey then met with the Clayton County Police Department "to present the facts that she knew of the incident and they also opened an investigation at that time."

"Our Office would like to first thank the staff at Willie A. Watkins Funeral Home in Riverdale, Ga for their bravery in bringing this incident to our attention. We would also like to thank the Clayton County Police Department, GBI Medical Examiner’s Office and Georgia Composite Medical Board," the medical examiner's statement added. You can see it in full below.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Southern Regional Medical Center full initial statement:

Due to patient privacy laws and HIPAA, we are unable to discuss the care and treatment of specific patients. 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.